


Silence

by The_Samurai_Prince



Category: Silent Hill (Video Game Series), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: And I'm gonna have fun messing with Bakugou. ;), As well as facing their fears, But this will be good for him. He needs the growth. X), But yeah it's the Japanese equivalent of Silent Hill, By the way Bakugou will be psychologically tortured when he enters the town., Cause Sairento Hiruzu is already taken. XD, Drama, Eventual Romance, Exploring guilt and insecurities, F/M, Gen, Hey it can happen., Hey what do you expect?, Horror, I decided to give em something, It's Silent Hill. LOL!, Just roll with it., LOL!, Love Triangle, MINOR Kachako, Momo/Izuku/Tsuyu, Multi, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Silence is Silent Hill's twin brother., Supernatural Elements, TenKyoTodo?, XD, either way they're not going to be hooking up in the end, original monsters, they'll just have respect for each other. ;)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:48:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 55,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22979392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Samurai_Prince/pseuds/The_Samurai_Prince
Summary: When the students of Class 1-A go to an abandoned town called Chinmoku for a day field trip on Quirk responsibility, Izuku and seven other students are trapped in the town by some force. They also encounter monsters and surreal things in the town that seem unreal to them. What is causing this? A Quirk user or...the town?MHA/Silent Hill crossover fusion.
Relationships: Izuku/Momo, Izuku/Tsuyu, Shouto/Kyouka, Tenya/Kyouka, friendship!Kachako
Comments: 28
Kudos: 72





	1. I See The Town

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh...yes...this is a MHA/Silent Hill crossover fusion...I've been writing a lot about Silent Hill lately, have I? :O LOL, but anywho, yeah, this will sort of be a crossover, except this story will not be in the crossover section. I mean, I'm not really calling the town Silent Hill or anything. XP Also, there won't be another chapter after this for a good while, as I need to watch the second season(or maybe just after the Sports Festival Arc) to get my knowledge of the characters and their situations down. Granted, this story IS set after the Sports Festival Arc, so I'm hanging on by a thread on how I portray these characters, but I think I did a pretty good job in keeping them all in-character. :D
> 
> But yeah, in the meantime, here's this little bit of story info of what's to come! ;)
> 
> Before I begin, though, here's everyone's least favorite thing to do in a story, writing the DISCLAIMER! D8
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or the concept of Silent Hill. They are respectively owned by Kohei Horikoshi/Shonen Jump and Konami. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they travel to their field day trip destination, they see a town in the distance...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Also, oopsie! I originally mentioned that they were walking on foot, but then in the second chapter, I let them go on a tour bus. D: LOL! Hey, I make mistakes, okay? XP Either way, I changed this chapter to them riding a tour bus. Sorry for the confusion everyone. ^^;

_**...Towns...** _

_**...They can be something...much**_ **more** _**...** _

_**The life source of a town...is always the people.** _

_**People can thrive in towns. They can grow, mature, and prosper.** _

_**However, some towns simply fade away in time, as people leave them due to unpredicted circumstances…** _

_**They can either leave...or die with the town.** _

_**And a town...can certainly die in due time.** _

_**Empty buildings, streets, parks, homes...a town can actually**_ **die** _ **.** _

_**It stays dead until people return...yearning for it to breathe again.** _

_**But...what if it doesn't want to?** _

_**What if all it wants...is the quiet?** _

_**The quiet...peaceful...sleep?** _

* * *

_**SILENCE** _

* * *

Izuku stared out at the window of the speeding bullet train, watching the passing fields go by.

Today was a school day, a Thursday. It was around early afternoon, and the class of 1-A were in their school uniforms, sitting in their seats as they rode a high-speed-rail train to their supposed class field trip. It was a long way to go from where they were, a little south of Japan, exactly two hours. They all had lunch back at the cafeteria in U.A. and went over to ride the train to their destination, bringing their suitcases with them. It was going to be an all-day field trip, meaning they all have to stay at a hotel, and return to Musufatu tomorrow.

Aizawa, their homeroom teacher, was there to accompany them further at the back, occupying two seats as he slept in his yellow sleeping bag. Each of the twenty students were seated in the passenger car as the train speeds through the country's terrain to their location.

Izuku was sitting near the window seat on the right side of the seating area, which Ochako was next to him, while across from him was Tenya and next to him was Tsuyu(or Tsu, as she wants to be called).

The green mop-haired boy turned his head to look across his seat and at Tenya, who was strangely quiet as he read a book to himself. Knowing Tenya, he would read the book close to his face as he would absorb every information, let it be a manual or a novel. Yet, he was holding in his hands on his lap. His expression was also...unemotive.

Izuku frowned. ' _Man...poor Tenya. After hearing his brother's injury...he hasn't been himself.'_

Tenya doesn't even look like he was reading the book. His gaze was just...dull and lifeless.

Next to Izuku, Ochako looked at her tall raven-haired friend in concern as well. She turned her head to glance at the boy next to her, which he turned his head to the chestnut-haired girl also, sharing the same expressions on their face: worry.

Tsuyu can also feel the awkward tension as well, knowing about Tenya's brother's incident. She decided to break it by saying, "So, *ribbit* what do you all think this field trip is gonna be about?"

Ochako and Izuku looked back at their frog quirked friend as they blinked in surprise at the question.

"Oh yeah. Aizawa-Sensei never told us anythin' about what this trip was gonna be." Ochako commented.

Izuku looked thoughtful, "Well...he did say we were all going to a town for a class field trip. That's all he said before taking his nap."

"Yeah. That was real informative of him, wasn't it?" Tsuyu jokes drolly as she ribbits.

"Heh, yeah." said Izuku with a slight smile. He looked at his phone for the time, "Hmm…he said it will be over an hour until we reach our destination. Wherever this town is that we're going to, it's definitely far away from Musufatu and U.A."

"Yeah. I wonder what we're gonna learn in this mystery town?" Ochako said with a happy smile. "Do you think this trip will have something to do with our internship?"

"Has to be. *ribbit* It starts tomorrow, but depending on us having suitcases, we'll be staying in this town for a day. This seems like almost a holiday for us if you ask me." Tsuyu commented.

"Well, whatever this place is, it has to hold some significance on becoming a Hero if we're heading there." Izuku said. He looked at Tenya, who was still 'reading' his book. "What, uh...what do you think, Iida?"

Tenya looked up from his book at Izuku, a little startled, "Oh, um...I, uh...I would think so too…" he then looked back down at his book.

Izuku frowned, as well as Ochako and Tsuyu.

"Iida…" Ochako began to say, but didn't know how to approach the topic.

"Hm?" Iida hummed as he looked up to glance at his fellow classmates.

All three of them seemed to be very concerned about him…

"...Um...e-excuse me for a moment." Tenya got up from his seat and placed his book on where he sat, not really bookmarking it as he closed it. He walked around them and went his way to the train's restroom.

They watched him go, eyes filled with sadness for the young man.

"Man, poor Iida." Tsuyu remarked. "He hasn't been himself at all these past days."

"Yeah...ever since he got the news about his brother, he acts so...distant," Ochako said with pity.

Izuku didn't say anything, only sitting in his seat as he thought about what he could do to try to and help his friend.

' _This is really bad...I can only hope this field trip will get his mind off of it at least...I mean, I can understand, the person that he looked up to the most is hurt, that being his older brother, but he's gonna make a recovery, so...I mean, this type of line of work is evident, but it's really taking a toll on Iida. I really hope he'll be himself when the internship comes. I just never seen him so dejected befor-'_

"Um, Deku?"

"Huh!?" Izuku looked up and at Ochako. "Uh, y-yeah?"

Now Tsuyu began to say to him with a sweatdrop, "Uh, you're muttering out loud again, Midoriya."

"Eh?!" Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh...uh, s-sorry." He said with a sheepish blush.

"Hey, it's no problem." Tsuyu said with a ribbit. "I actually agree with what you were saying. Maybe this whole trip will be a good thing for him...whatever it'll be." Her eyes then looked a little poignant. "I mean, I don't blame him. If it were my younger siblings that were injured by some jerkwad Villain, then I would be kind of in the dumps as well."

"O-Oh, you have siblings, Asui?" Izuku asked her with a smile.

Tsuyu nodded at him. "Mm-hm, yep. My younger sister and brother. And as I said before, please call me Tsu."

"Huh?" Izuku blinked in confusion, but realized that he didn't call her by the name she told him to call her. "Oh! Uh, s-sorry Tsu!" He frantically said back.

"No problem." Tsuyu shrugged nonchalantly. "It happens."

Ochako smiled as she said, "Well, either way, maybe we can help him out? He's our friend, and he really needs some comfort and support right now. Besides, he's our class representative! He represents our class, and it's our job to assist him!"

"Yeah," Izuku commented with a smile. "Also, it's almost been a week, and the last time I heard from the Hero News, Ingenium is recovering quite well. Iida has to feel at least relieved upon knowing that. And that's all that matters, if his brother's alright."

Tsuyu looked over them and saw that Tenya was coming back over to their seats. "Here he comes." she whispered, "Act natural."

Both Izuku and Ochako nodded and played it normal as they can be around a society of superpowered users.

Tenya walked back over to his seat, picked up his book, and sat back down, opening his book again and reading somewhere that was undoubtedly not where he left off.

All three of them just sat there, as Tenya was quietly reading…

Izuku decided to break the ice after a minute. "So, Iida, you, uh, ready for your internship?"

Iida looked up, "Oh, um...as a matter of fact, yes. I am. I'm...most certainly ready to learn how I can benefit my goal to become a...a better hero."

Ochako smiled, "Well, I'm really excited to meet up with Gunhead! Maybe he can give me tips on how I can be an even more formidable fighter! Bakugou surely let me realize that I need to be more aggressive when it comes to one-on-one battles."

Izuku frowned when Uraraka mentioned his former childhood friend. He glanced at the seats that were next to theirs, which occupying them were Bakugou, and on his left, Todoroki. In front of them were Kirishima and Kaminari respectively.

Leaning back in his chair, Midoriya thought back about his battle against Todoroki, how he lost and didn't get any good offers from the fights he had...well, except for All Might's teacher Gran Torino, which he is excited about. He was just lucky he had at least one. However, he suppose the loss wasn't all that bad...he didn't have to fight Kaachan.

He cringed. That was a match-up he was glad that didn't happen.

"Either way, I think it's really cool you even got an offer, Midoriya. I mean that in no disrespect whatsoever, by the way. You were really good out there, even though your quirk is kind of strange." Tsuyu said to him.

Midoriya snapped out of his thoughts. He completely spaced out that he forgot about the conversation at hand. Although, he did know of the topic, so he just said, "Oh, uh, no offense taken." he said with a smile. "And thanks. I'm glad I at least tried to advance through the tournament."

"Well, I'm sure you would have won it if Todoroki didn't suddenly decide to use his fire power on you." Ochako assured him.

Izuku rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Well, he was tough. Whoever Todoroki selected, I bet that Hero will be really impressed with him."

"Heck, I'm impressed you stayed out long enough against Todoroki, especially with the injuries you've sustained, even with your quirk. *ribbit* You're definitely one tough guy to endure all that." Tsuyu encouraged him.

Now Midoriya blushed at the compliment, along with another chuckle, "Aw, c-come on, I-I'm just l-lucky, heh."

"Luck or not, you got what it takes Midoriya." Complimented Tsuyu with a point of her finger, a wink, and a cute smile on her face.

Feeling embarrassed, Izuku looked down at the floor, his cheeks tinted a little red. Tsuyu just snickered at Midoriya's display of humbleness.

Iida smiled slightly, thinking he should at least enjoy the company of his friends.

Uraraka, however, looked at Tsuyu with a questionable brow raised…

* * *

"Man, I wonder what this whole field trip will be about?" Kaminari asked the three other guys in their side row of seats.

"I don't know, but I got some reading material if anyone wants to pass the time," Kirishima said as he got out of his backpack some Japanese translated graphic novels of old fictional superheroes.

Todoroki raised an interested brow. "American graphic novels?"

Kirishima chuckled. "Yeah, I kind of have a thing for these old American superhero comics. Although, like you said, these are more graphic novels than comics, because they tell a certain story with a superhero character. Got a range from DC, Marvel, even Dark Horse."

Bakugou looked at the spiky redhead oddly, then he sneered and scoffed. "Shit, you read those nerd books?"

"Hey, they're pretty entertaining. They tell really deep, complicated, and character-driven stories." Kirishima told him. "I only brought four of them conveniently enough, each of them being about my favorites, Spider-Man, Batman, Wolverine, and Hellboy. These guys are totally manly."

"Batman? Is he the one with no powers?" Kaminari asked in curiosity.

"Well yeah, but he can still kick major butt. Honestly, he's one of my favorites, because of his trials and everything he does without powers. He uses intellect, gadgets, instincts, stealth, martial arts, and pure determination and will to win against his opponents. He's totally badass and is really honorable, like a true Hero. He also has some pretty wicked villains."

Katsuki scowled as he listened to Kirishima describe this Batman. He scoffed once more. ' _A Hero without powers...almost sounds like that_ fucking **bastard** _Deku.'_ He glanced to his right at his former childhood friend, sitting with Four Eyes, Frog Girl, and Round Face. Midoriya was just sitting there as he was chuckling about something, looking nervous as usual with a blush on his face. He sneered at him. ' _Pathetic extra. He's lucky he even got an offer from some Pro Hero. Who would even want that nerd, anyway?'_ The blonde shifted his gaze at Uraraka. ' _Tch. At least Round Face actually put up some sort of fight. Of course, she lost against me in the end, but still, not bad for an extra. Deku said she thought all of it on her own...not that I trust that fucking punk.'_

"Hey, uh, Bakugou?"

He grunted and turned to Kirishima. "What?" He asked in annoyance.

"Uh, I was just wondering, if you ever have a favorite American fictional superhero, what would it be?" Kirishima asked him.

"How hell should I know!? I'm not some damn nerd!" Bakugou exclaimed.

"Well, if you ever feel like reading one of these things, I suggest you read Wolverine. He's basically has metal material inside his body, which makes him immortal. Kind of complicated to explain, so you just have to read up on him online. He's kind of an anti-hero, and takes no prisoners, always cutting up bad guys with his metal claws that he shoots out of his knuckles. He's basically indestructible...well, almost."

"Shit, why is he called Wolverine then? He sounds nothing like one! Wolverines aren't immortal and indestructible."

"I'm guessing he's called Wolverine because of his metal claws?" Todoroki dully suggested.

"And hey, wolverines can be a little dangerous from what I heard." Kaminari shrugged. "By the way, is it okay if I read the Spider-Man one?"

"Sure thing, man." Kirishima gave him the Spider-Man graphic novel. "Do you want to read one, Todoroki? I suggest Hellboy, he's kind of an anti-hero with a heart of gold. And that's saying something cause he's a demon! He also likes cats."

"...Hm. Okay." Todoroki said with a shrug. He really was interested in some of these graphic novels that influenced Pro Heroes of today.

Bakugou looked at them in disbelief. "You got to be fucking kidding me."

"Aw, come on, Bakugou, these are OG superheroes!" Kirishima said with a grin. "I really want to catch up on the Batman one, so I'll let you read the Wolverine one. I've already read it, and I think you might like the action in it. He's pretty brutal on his enemies."

Katsuki just stared at the graphic novel Kirishima was offering him. "...Tch. Whatever." He grabbed it and began reading Wolverine. "Just so it can pass some fucking time."

"There ya go!" Kirishima chuckled.

Growling, Katsuki read the first page of the graphic novel...and the second page...and the third page..and the fourth...fifth...

' _...This guy's pretty badass.'_

* * *

Momo was reading another encyclopedia that she brought with her on the trip. Jirou was sitting next to her near the window seat listening to her music on her phone, while across from them respectively was Mina and Tooru, chatting among themselves.

"I wonder what this field trip will be about?" Mina asked anyone who was curious enough.

"Who knows?" Said Tooru with a shrug. "Aizawa-Sensei just told us yesterday to pack our things and to get ready for a field trip after lunch."

"Yeah. For all we know, it could be a testing ground on how we should use our quirks." Mina said, cheeks puffed out in adorable frustration. "I hope that's not the case."

Momo lowered her encyclopedia on her lap. "Well, whatever it might be, it has to do with something that relates to being a Hero. They wouldn't just do this without a reason."

"I would think so too. Why else are we leaving school grounds and staying at wherever we're going for a day? It must be a pretty important place for us to go to before the internship." Tooru commented.

Jirou took out an earphone, hearing their conversation after the song ended. "Hey, as long as we're not doing any school work, that's alright with me. I think we need another field trip after the Sports Festival."

Yaoyorozu hummed in agreement as she nodded. However, her thoughts went back to the Sports Festival, how she lost against Tokoyami in just one easy fell swoop. She frowned at the humiliation on that day. She had no ill will against Tokoyami. Even if she did lose the battle, she would congratulate him on beating her in the match. But it was her own fault that she was so careless and sloppy from the get-go in her match...which doesn't make her feel any better when she relived the account in her mind.

She didn't let it bother her too much, but...it made her feel...well, actually, it made her look like a fool. So much that she got some offers, but they weren't worth looking at(not that she doubted their place as a Hero). That day when she botched her match up, when she underestimated her opponent...she felt so inadequate. And those weren't the signs of a good Hero.

"So what are you thinking of trying to create, Momo?" Jirou's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Momo turned her attention to the earjack girl with a confused blink. "Huh?"

"Well, you're reading a huge ass encyclopedia, so you must be thinking of creating something, right?" Jirous asked.

"Oh...well, actually, I am trying to read up on how to make simple weapons, such as flamethrowers, combat knives, taser batons, and of course, rubber bullet guns. You know, just to be on the safe side. I have plenty of other reading materials to look over on how to make these kinds of things, so, yeah, that's what I'm thinking of creating." Momo explained.

All three girls beside Momo sweatdropped at the claim and at the weapons she listed.

"Uh...okay," Jirou said, blinking at the claim.

Momo felt sheepish by their looks as she rubbed her arm, "Um...too much?"

"Well, more like 'too unlike you'," Mina said with an awkward smile. "Why the arsenal?"

"Yeah, we're going on a field trip, not to war." Tooru joked and laughed lightly, until she actually paused to consider that. "...Right?"

Jirou gave Tooru a monotone stare. "Of course not. They would have to break a lot of laws to do that."

"Um...well, I…" Momo now felt a little silly for even revealing that bit of info. "It's just…"

Jirou then realized what it could be about. "Hey, Momo, come on, if you're...you know, still upset about... _that_ , then, don't let it bother you so much."

"Bother her? What's bothering her?" Tooru asked.

It suddenly dawned on Mina. "Ooooh, you mean your match fight between you and Tokoyami at the Sports Festival? The one you lost?"

Kyouka glared at Mina while Yaoyorozu winced. "Y-...Yes." The Creation Quirk user looked down in shame.

"Oh, uh…" Mina sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and looked back at Jirou apologetically.

"Oh, that? Aw, come on, Yaomomo, don't feel bad about that loss. If you ask me, Tokoyami wasn't being fair and patient. I'm sure you would've taken care of him if you had plenty of time." Tooru told her with assurance.

Looking up at the invisible girl, Momo gave her a slight smile. "Thanks Hagakure, but...I still feel like I've failed on being a competent Hero."

"Hey, it's why we're in U.A. in the first place," Jirou said in a matter-of-fact tone with a smile. "We're here to become better."

"But I-" Momo began to say, but she was cut off by the rocker girl.

"Look, don't worry about it. Life goes on. You think Midoriya let that loss against Todoroki affect him? No way! And he's probably the most awkward guy in our class!" Kyouka reassured her.

Momo blinked at the choice example her friend picked. "Midoriya?" She thought about their male green-mopped haired classmate and saw beforehand that he tried to hold his own against Todoroki. While she doesn't know much about the guy, she surely can say that Midoriya endured a deal while he was fighting against someone like Todoroki. And even though he lost, he kept going with his path on being a Hero

But she would think that was different. She didn't make a move when Tokoyami lunged at her. Midoriya was doing all that he could to _stay in_ the ring.

Either they missed that fact, or they really think highly of her.

She decided to mention that, but Mina interjected by saying, "Oh yeah! That fight was really extreme, especially with Deku using his quirk to fight Todoroki off!"

"Yeah...Midoriya's quirk is kind of strange." Tooru commented.

"Tell me about it." Agreed Mina. "I mean, he was pretty cool fending himself off from Todoroki's attacks, but his quirk looks like a drawback to some people."

"Hey, either way, you gotta hand it to the guy, he's really resilient on getting back up." Jirou complimented.

"Oh yeah, totally." Tooru nodded, "Also...do you all think the shy, awkward, nice guy vibe that Midoriya has is kind of cute?"

Mina, Jirou, and Momo blinked at Tooru.

"I mean, since we're on the subject of Midoriya, I'm just wondering...cause I...I think it is." Tooru said with a noticeable rosy pink color on her invisible cheeks.

The three of them stared at her...blinking again.

"...Well…" Jirou blushed a little, scratching the side of her cheek. "He's...I mean, he IS kind of cute in that really nervous type of way...I guess?"

Seeing that this conversation was right up Mina's alley, she grinned widely and teased Tooru, "Well well, I didn't know you had a thing for Deku, Tooru!"

Tooru blushed even further. "Oh, no! It's just that I find him cute! It's nothing like that!"

"Hey, I don't blame ya. He is pretty handsome, I would say." Mina winked mischievously back at the invisible girl.

"No! I was just-"

"Actually, he does have big hands. I wonder if that suggests anything~?" Mina snickered as she kept poking fun at Tooru, who was putting her hands to her blushing intangible cheeks in embarrassment.

Jirou just looked at the exchange with a slight flush on her pale cheeks, while Momo put her hand up to her mouth and blushed a pink tint on her face.

While Mina teases Tooru more suggesting material about Izuku, Kyouka turned to Momo and said to her, "How did we get to where we're supposedly going, to talking about how cute Deku is?"

Momo smiled and shrugged. "I don't even know. I'm just stuck in the middle of all of this."

Jirou snickered at her response. "Actually, what _do_ you think of Midoriya? He's been one of our most interesting and unique classmates so far."

Yaoyorozu blinked at her question. "I...uh...don't know? I've never really communicated with him before honestly...although I do have to say, he really does have a very peculiar quirk."

"Yeah. I mean, breaking his bones as he uses his quirk? That's crazy, I tell ya." Kyouka expressed her thoughts.

"Indeed…" Momo leaned against her seat as she relaxed. She looked at her phone at the time to see that it had been forty minutes upon riding the train to their destination.

' _Depending on what Aizawa-Sensei said, it'll take us an hour until we arrive at this mysterious place we're heading to.'_

...She sighed.

' _Well, in the meantime, I'll just keep reading.'_

And that she did, as she picked up her encyclopedia off her lap and read it.

They all fade into silence after that…

* * *

True to Aizawa's words, an hour had passed and they've reached their destination.

Once their homeroom teacher got up from his nap, he led all of the 1-A students out of the train and led them to the bus station with their things being carried behind them.

Izuku, who was also rolling his luggage behind him, decided to ask Aizawa about the trip, "Um, excuse me, Sensei?"

"Yeah?" Aizawa said, not looking at him as he walked ahead of them, leading them to the bus station.

"Um...y-you never really told us where we're going. You said a town, but...i-is there like a museum facility there, or…?"

Aizawa sighed. "Believe me, Midoriya, this trip is really important for you and your classmates to know about. Just know that it involves the usage of your Quirks."

"Oh, uh...okay…" Izuku trailed back behind with his friends

"Well, what did Aizawa-Sensei say?" Ochako asked him.

"He said it involves the usage of our Quirks…" Izuku said simply with a confused shrug.

"The usage of our Quirks? Aw man, I hope it's not anything like physical training. This trip would be a terrible break from school if that's the case. *ribbit* " Tsuyu remarked.

Uraraka frowned at that. "Yeah...not much of a field trip and more like a day of gym."

"Such is the path of the Hero," commented Iida. "We must not doubt our teachers if this whole trip is what they say it is."

"Still, this is kind of unimaginative. *ribbit* Traveling to a town by train for an hour and thirty minutes only to find out that we have to train our Quirks?"

"Maybe it's more than that?" Midoriya said inquisitively.

Nobody knows the answer to that, so they just kept walking to the bus station.

* * *

As soon as they all entered and took their seats in the bus, Aizawa made the announcement to them. "Okay, listen up. You're probably wondering why we're going to some town far away from Musutafu and U.A. Well, to be specific, we _are_ just going to a town."

That raised a lot of confused brows.

"Uh...what for, Sensei?" Sero asked puzzled.

"You'll see when we get there. However, this isn't a physical training session."

"It isn't, Sensei?" Tsuyu asked with wide surprised eyes.

"No. This wouldn't be a field trip if it wasn't." Aizawa drolled.

"Uh…" Izuku raised his hand and said, "So then...we _are_ going to a museum?"

Aizawa turned his head toward Midoriya. "...Somewhat."

Confused by that answer, Izuku just sat there wondering what he meant by that.

"Just know it involves the usage of your Quirks. Whatever that means to you, you have your Quirk and it's yours alone. Be responsible with it. Because great power comes with great responsibility." Aizawa sagely tells them.

The students all glanced at each other in bewilderment upon hearing that statement.

That is, until Kaminari asked Aizawa, "Wait, isn't that from Spider-Man?"

"...What?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, yeah! I didn't know you read Spider-Man, Sensei!" Kirishima said with a grin.

"...Spider-what?" Aizawa asked in confusion.

"Aw, that's awesome! What other comics do you read?" Kirishima asked him.

"Interesting...I didn't know Aizawa-Sensei was hip." Todoroki muttered.

"Huh. You actually learn something new every day." Kaminari muttered as he scratched his head to absorb the information given to him.

"Comics? What are those? Do they have hot women in there?" said a grape-headed pervert named Mineta, who was sitting next to Kaminari.

"Actually, yeah, they do! Ask Kirishima, he'll let you look at one!" Kaminari told him.

"Whoa, no way, bro! No offense, Mineta, but I want my graphic novels to be clean and in good condition. Besides, it's not a lady book, it's about superheroes fighting crime! The OG manly stuff, man."

"Oh...okay then. I'll pass." Mineta said with a dismissive hand wave.

"Well, there is one superheroine character by the name of Black Cat. She does look pretty hot. I looked her up online and _dayum_ they make some good art of her!" Kaminari told Mineta.

"A heroine derived from a cat? Sounds promising. And I love me some quality art, especially if it involves _women_!" Mineta says as she chuckled lecherously.

"Got you covered," Kaminari smirked as he got his phone out and let him view his screen.

"WOOOOOO! Holey moley! That is one hot fictional heroine! I should look at these comics more often! Hehehe!" Mineta giggled in a perverted way.

"Hey, I also looked up some more superheroines from comics. Check these gals out!" Kaminari showed Mineta.

"Ooooh! Now _this_ gal I _like_! PowerGirl! Oh yeah! I wonder if that means she's the domineering type like Midnight?"

Everyone in the bus sweatdropped except for Aizawa at Kaminari and Mineta's now perverted interest of fictional superhero women.

Kirishima looked at them appalled. "...Dude, what have I done?"

Aizawa just stared at them, apparently not amused by all that's happening. In fact, his wraps came to life and grabbed Kaminari's phone.

"Hey!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"Hey! What gives?" Mineta exclaimed as well.

"As I was _saying_ before all this _occurred_ ," Aizawa said in a threatening tone which made them(and everyone else) shut up instantly. "This place is actually more of a park, and...these _park_ _grounds_ need to be respected when you get there, so no, funny, business. At all."

Curious, everyone glanced at each other to see what they think about all of this, which their expression ranged from confusion and unease.

Momo, who's sitting next to Jirou, raised her hand and spoke. "Excuse me, Sensei, but what kind of place is this? Is it a shrine?"

Aizawa shook his head. "No, but it's a very serene place of what it once was." He looked at his phone. "We'll arrive there around twenty minutes."

Izuku was now interested in where they were supposedly going. It must be somewhere beautiful and important to make them go on a trip that was almost two hours away from their school.

* * *

As the bus drove them further into a wrapping and winding two-lane road around a mountain, there was a lot of greenery surrounding them. Everything started to look natural. No bullet train rails, not many roads were out here, and there were trees everywhere they go. It looked like a perfect place to actually go camping or even have a field trip.

It was also very...quiet…

Save for the humming of the bus.

The 1-A students were all actually mesmerized by the nature that was surrounding them. Izuku looked out from his window seat to his left, and could see from the large slope through the trees that there was a lake a little ways down from where they are.

And then, just enough so that he could make out a clearing through the trees, he saw it…

He sees...a town.

It was then he noticed a roadway sign that said the following:

_Welcome to the Town of Chinmoku!_

"Silence…?" Izuku muttered to himself in question.

"It certainly is beautiful out here." said the soft male voice that was Iida's.

Izuku turned to Tenya, who looked to be in awe of the area. The Quirk Inheritor smiled as he said. "Heh, yeah. I'm actually beginning to wonder if this field trip really is some sort of vacation."

Ochako, who was in front of them in her seat next to Tsuyu, turned around with a smile and said, "Oh, that would be so much fun! This whole area reminds me of when I was little with my grandpa! We used to go campin' as well as fishin' and everything!"

"Aw, that's nice, Uraraka." Izuku smiled at the gravity girl.

"Hey, you too?" Tsuyu turned to Uraraka. "I would go camping and fishing as well when I was younger, but it's with my Dad. Sometimes my siblings come along when they were younger, but we moved to Musutafu when Dad and Mom got their jobs, so we never do that as much now. That, and I wanted to be closer to U.A." She turned to Izuku and Tenya, "Have you two ever gone camping before?"

Midoriya felt awkward as he answered. "Oh, uh, well...I, uh, I used to go play out in the woods in the park when I was...I was younger." He mumbled that last part. It was in a time when he and Bakugou were three-years-old and they used to venture around the park to pretend like they were stealth heroes.

"I have…" Tenya said simply as he looked out the window. "And I can say right now, this area is certainly outstanding for a nice hike in the forest. And look at that lake! It's magnificent. It...kind of makes you forget about your worries..." His expression looked so...peaceful right now.

Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu looked at Tenya, a little astonished about his sudden demeanor.

"Um…" Izuku began to say, but thought that he shouldn't really say anything at this point. Iida looked really happy upon seeing the view from where they were...Izuku smiled as he glanced at the forest, lake, and town below. He turned back to Iida and said, "Yeah, it certainly does, doesn't it?"

Tenya looked down at the shorter boy and nodded with a hum and a small smile. "It really is. I remember a time when my...brother, parents, and I took hikes around an area we go to that was around five miles away from town. We always have the most adventurous times…"

All three friends frowned, with Ochako saying. "Iida, it's gonna be okay…"

But to their surprise, Tenya actually and truly smiled back at them and said, "Yes...it will be...thank you all."

Blinking at the sudden uplifted attitude that Iida displayed, Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu glanced at each other and back at Tenya.

Izuku smiled as well, happy that his friend was at least feeling at ease. "Hey, no problem."

Ochako and Tsuyu both smiled as well and nodded.

Iida chuckled a bit, "Maybe this type of environment will help clear my head a bit."

"Hey, just where the fuck are we going?" Said the rude voice of Bakugou, who was sitting next to Kirishima. "What is this, a damn vacation?"

Aizawa gave Bakugou a stern look for his language. "You'll see. However, I think we're nearing our hotel now."

"We are?" Todoroki said in confusion as he sat next to Tokoyami. "But Sensei, even though the sign says we've entered town, from where we are, we're not anywhere near this town of Chinmoku. Should we stay like in an inn over at this town if that's the case?"

"For your last question, yes. And in some way, we _have_ entered town. But the place we're staying at is near it. Also, we'll be taking the scenic route to it after we check-in our hotel." Aizawa said.

"The scenic route?" Kyouka asked curiously. "You mean, this isn't it? There's another way that goes into this town?"

"In a _way_ , yes. But we'll all be taking a tour bus there once we get all of our stuff settled into our rooms."

The students just stared at him, like he grew a second head.

"...I am sorry for my question, but...why are we taking another bus into the town?" said a bewildered Aoyama.

"Yeah, what going on?" Sero asked.

Sighing, Aizawa said, "I'll explain the reasoning when we get to our hotel. Which is coming...right...about...now."

The students looked to their left and saw a nice looking lodge hotel that was on a grassy hill. As soon as the bus was near the hotel's driveway, there was a sign that showcased its name, the place being called "The Lakeview Hotel". When they were in front of the hotel's entrance, they took in their surroundings a bit. There were people there as well, all of them looking like tourists.

It was then Izuku decided to ask the question that's on everyone's mind. "Uh, Aizawa-Sensei? What's...going on right now?"

"Well, as you can see, we are now in the town limits of Chinmoku. As for what all of _this_ is, well...there's been a tragedy in Chinmoku here involving a Quirk user…" Aizawa narrowed his eyes into an intense stare at his students. "How much do you all know about the 'Silent Massacre in the Hills'?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! Does this have promise? Please do tell me! :D Also, yes, as you can see from the character filters, Izuku be getting a love triangle. XD There's more, and they're a little out there, but...these are what fanfics are for, right? ;D
> 
> Also, an announcement! I'm getting ready for my sister's wedding that's coming up THIS(or next, depending on when this was posted) Saturday! And I'm a groomsman! Yaaay! 8D However, I won't be able to write a ton, but I'll be bringing my computer with me where my sister will get married so I can write some stuff at that time! :)
> 
> Again, tell me what you all think! Fave, follow, review? Help a guy out! I love to hear what you all think of it so far! :D
> 
> Until then, keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP


	2. The Town of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students of Class 1-A learn about the tragic happening that once occurred in the town of Chinmoku, while getting ready for the tour...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 3: I changed the appearance of the hotel and edited some things in Aizawa's explanation. ^^;
> 
> EDIT 4: Made some minor edits that don't make some of this chapter's sentences, paragraphs, and dialogue look and sound cringe-worthy. ^^;

"The...Massacre in the Hills'?" Izuku asked Aizawa curiously.

Todoroki blinked, humming in thought as a nagging suspicion ate at the back of his mind. ' _That sounds a little familiar...'_

Tokoyami, having been thinking the same, muttered under his breath. "Hmm...where have I heard that before?"

"The 'Silent Massacre in the Hills'? What's that?" Sato asked Aizawa with a curious raised brow.

"Wait…" Iida uttered, "Aren't we in _the_ exact location where…" He didn't need to finish, as a haunting chill swept through him.

Aizawa nodded. "Indeed it is, Iida."

"...Oh…" Iida lowered his head, looking somewhat poignant.

"Um...Aizawa-Sensei?" said Izuku, "What, uh...what is this, um…'Silent Massacre in the Hills'? I haven't heard of anything like that before."

"Me neither." Tsuyu commented.

"Yeah, um...what does a massacre have to do with a field trip?" Ochako asked, feeling a little bit uneasy by just the title of the name alone.

"Well, for the students who don't know anything about this event...well, first of all, how about we all exit the bus first? I'll explain it when we get our things out." Aizawa informed them.

All the students glanced at each other at that remark. Some shrugged, while some looked a little concerned about this trip.

"Don't worry, this is just a lesson in 'Quirk Responsibility'. Now hurry up. The bus needs to get back to the station." Aizawa told them.

They did as they were told as they got their baggage out of the compartments in the bus. Once they did, they all exited out of the vehicle with their luggage carried or dragged behind them. Aizawa and the students stood out in front of a garden that's in front of the three-level, Colonial-Revival-looking lodge hotel you see in the USA, which at the entrance of the garden there was a plaque that says "Remembrance Garden", with a fountain in the center.

"Remembrance Garden?" Kirishima read the plaque. "Whoa…did something happened here?"

"Yes, Kirishima, something did happen. And that town below us was where one event took place during the time when Quirks were first introduced." Aizawa explained.

"You mean around one-hundred and thirty plus years ago?" Tooru asked in curious interest.

Aizawa nodded. "Yes. And during its conception at that time, people were relatively new to Quirks. While some have mastered their Quirks and used them to help their communities, such as preventing accidents and crimes big and small, or just by making their life easier, there were some who... _abused_ that power."

Iida nodded gravely as Todoroki and Tokoyami's eyes widened in realization, remembering something that they've learned in Quirk history.

' _Wait...is it_ that _town?'_ Todoroki mused grimly.

' _...So...we're actually here then.'_ Tokoyami thought soberly.

Momo's eyes also widened in surprise when she recalled something that she learned in her studies. "Wait...are you saying...that _this_ is the town?"

Jirou looked at Momo in question. "Huh? What about the town?"

"Oh my...I think I know what we're talking about now." Aoyama said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

"Oh, wait... _oh_...you mean, we're near...?" Tooru asked, her sentence faltering as her posture was a little solemn.

"Uuuh…I'm a little...confused? What is everyone remembering right now?" Kaminari asked as he scratched his head, his eyebrow raised in obvious confusion.

"Yeah. What exactly happened in that town we passed?" Mineta asked in impatient curiosity.

Aizawa's eyes actually turned soft with a pinch of sadness. "For any of you not familiar with this event, it happened a very long time ago. But basically this event, in _that_ town down there, is what composed the very first drafts of the Quirk laws in our country that would soon go into effect."

All of the students', except Tenya, Momo, Shouto, Fumikage, Aoyama, and Tooru, looked at their teacher in surprise, this bombshell of information making their eyes wide with awareness.

"Whoa…then, this area really _is_ significant," Izuku muttered in awe.

"Wow..." Ochako frowned thoughtfully. "What...what exactly happened in that town down there?"

Aizawa was silent for a moment, until he said, "Before I go into that, let me give you a history lesson that relates to this event. Before Quirks appeared into our daily lives in Japan, there was once a man that goes by the name of Uoruta. Sariban Uoruta. He lived in that town you see below us, Chinmoku. Records say that he was a vagrant, having no family and relatives to go to, and used to wander around the streets. From reports, his life was...a little rough."

"What do you mean?" Tsuyu asked in curiosity.

"Well...for starters, his parents abandoned him in an apartment room when he was just a newborn baby."

All of the students felt appalled upon hearing that, their eyes widened at the audacity. Even Tenya, Shouto, Fumikage, Aoyama, Momo, Tooru, and Katsuki stood there in shock.

"His parents just...abandoned him? When he was a baby?" Ochako asked, feeling sick to her stomach.

"I...never knew about that," Momo muttered.

"Neither did I," Tenya said with a sorrowful frown.

"Whoa...aw man, that's...terrible," Mina said with a sad frown.

"Yeah, that's messed up," Kirishima nodded with an equally sad but serious frown.

"Yeah...that's not right," Izuku muttered softly. "Why did they abandon him?"

Aizawa sighs, saying, "Simply put, they just didn't want him."

"Man…" Jirou cringed.

"Believe me, it gets worse." Aizawa continues, "Uoruta lived in the apartment complex for about a day, until he was discovered by the landlord. He gave him to an orphanage in Chinmoku called the Wish House. He lived there through his young life, until one day, he had to leave the orphanage when he turned sixteen."

"Nobody wanted him?" Ochako frowned at that.

Aizawa hummed, answering her question. "It was mostly because he was getting older and he was ridiculed by the other kids. Reports also say that he was...a little mentally off. Either way, after they closed the doors on him, he decided to go to the apartment that he was born in, the only place where he found comfort. Unfortunately, there was another tenant that was living in the apartment. He often called out for his mother, which records say that he associated the room that he was born in to be his _actual_ mother."

"Huh? He called the apartment room his 'mom'?" Sato asked, confused.

"Well, if you were abandoned at birth and only have the comfort of a simple room to calm you down, you wouldn't blame them," Aizawa commented sadly. "And just like that, he lived by himself in the streets of Chinmoku. He struggled to survive and fight for himself, becoming an outcast in the town, begging for money and food. He went on in life like this for eight long excruciating years."

"Man, poor guy," Ojiro said with sympathy.

"Dude, yeah, when is this gonna get happy?" Kaminari said with a grimace.

"Sad to say, there's no happy ending to this tale," said Aizawa. "As of right now, we're getting into the depressing part of the story."

"Uh...okay…" Tsuyu said, a little uneasy about what's coming next.

"When he was still the age of twenty-three, that was when Quirks were starting to manifest into people in this area of Japan. Everyone had a Quirk at that time. Uoruta, however...didn't get a Quirk."

Some of the classmates looked shocked to hear that, while the students who learned about this event said nothing. Izuku, however, froze.

' _Uoruta was Qurkless?'_ thought Midoriya, a little disturbed by this fact. In morbid curiosity, Izuku glanced at Katsuki.

Bakugou was also a little silent, a scowl on his face as he was listening to Aizawa. Midoriya made sure to turn his head back to his homeroom teacher so he wouldn't be caught looking at his former childhood friend.

"Or so they thought. That only means it didn't come to him yet. He'll have one soon enough." Aizawa continued. "Even then, thanks to his Quirk being delayed, he became more of an outcast...until one night, on his twenty-fourth birthday, something awakened his dormant Quirk inside of him."

"This really isn't going to end well, is it?" Sero asked uncomfortably.

"No. Sadly, it won't," Aizawa said with a sigh. "Reports and security cameras tell that Uoruta was walking through Chinmoku that night. He seemed to be going back to the apartment room once more to call out to his 'mother'. He called out to the room like a lost child, almost as if he had a spiritual connection to it."

"Eeyuck, that sounded creepy," Mineta said, shivering.

"It's what the reports say. Anyway, as he was walking through the streets and neighborhoods of Chinmoku...he activated what appeared to be a dangerous Quirk onto the town."

The students remained silent as they listened to Aizawa.

"His Quirk...wasn't an average one, obviously. Apparently, he never used it before, which is obvious since he was pronounced Quirkless. But something made him activate it...whether it was someone who pushed him to the edge or something else...he decided to use it _all_ on the town."

"What...What was his Quirk?" Izuku asked in discomfort.

"It was 'Hallucination'," Iida answered him suddenly.

Izuku looked at his taller friend in shock. "Hallucination?"

Tenya nodded, a grim look on his face.

"Yes," Aizawa confirmed. "Apparently, his Quirk can make people go crazy. The cameras didn't say how he did it, but the town suffered a lot of mental trauma because of it. The cameras also tell that he didn't look to be affected by the hallucinations, thus the authorities from the next town concluded that it was Uoruta who started making the people of Chinmoku go insane."

"That's horrible…" Ochako softly says in sympathy.

"With that said, when Uoruta used his Quirk, it spread like a disease. He made people see things that weren't there, making his Quirk go deep into their minds and make them live their darkest fears. And when I say spread, it even reached the town's Police Department, affecting the officers in the facility."

"Ah man…" Kirishima winced.

"These hallucinations became so real enough for these people, that they could do nothing but attack others in the town. So much...it eradicated almost everyone there." Aizawa told them all.

"Almost? You mean...there were survivors?" asked Kyouka with hopeful but morbid curiosity.

Aizawa gave out a poignant frown. "...Records say that there were survivors, but they already had too many mental scars from the hallucinations. They were said to never be the same again. However, there was one who didn't suffer Uoruta's Quirk, and that was the tenant who's renting the apartment room he was going to. For some reason, he had mercy on that person, her being a young woman named Hanawa Riza. It seemed she took good care of the room, aka his 'mother'."

"That's still creepy," Mineta muttered.

"As for how many casualties...well, as I said, the town was eradicated, but only twenty percent of the town survived with heavy wounds, both physical and mental."

"So...whatever happened to Uoruta?" Tsuyu asked, getting prepared to hear the worst.

"...Uoruta was the only one who could stop the hallucinations...when reports came to the authorities from a couple that was going over to the town to stay for a while on their trip to Kyoto, they witnessed dead bodies on the streets, as well as the confused and injured people that were still all around Chinmoku. Once the authorities from the next town came over to check the damage that the town endured, they went over to the apartment room where Uoruta went in...only to find him and Riza there, with Uoruta having knife wounds in his back. The woman named Riza confessed that she was the one who stabbed him because she figured it would stop the hallucinations people were having. She wasn't charged, as it was labeled as justifiable homicide. From the reports, she seemed to regret the decision in doing so, but it was the only way to stop the town from being crazy. Thus, Uoruta died, not knowing he was making everyone go insane."

"Man, this is depressing…" Kamninari said with a frown.

"Yeah...and ever since then, that town Chinmoku down there, became abandoned. Never to have any residents to live in or for businesses to thrive, letting the past haunt the streets as it became a ghost town." Aizawa told them, "And the most ironic thing about all of this is, it used to actually be a resort town. And the whole town of Chinmoku is basically one of the top attractions all over Japan, commemorating the fallen people whose lives have been cut short and have suffered through that event."

"Man…" Izuku murmured. "That's...really dark."

Bakugou was still unusually quiet throughout the whole explanation, but when the Aizawa was finished, he had to ask, "I have a question."

Aizawa looked at Bakugou and said, "Go on ahead."

"It's called 'The Silent Massacre in the Hills', ain't it? Why the hell is it even called that? I would think a massacre would be a little noisy if everyone was hallucinating and losing their shit, so wouldn't people have heard it from afar?"

The Class of 1-A all blinked at that. Even Aizawa blinked.

' _Hey...Kaachan is right.'_ Izuku thought in realization. He then said, "Yeah. Actually, how far is the next town?"

Katsuki 'hmph' and sneered at Izuku's question, almost like he didn't want to be acknowledged by him or wanting to actually ask the same question.

Aizawa stood there, almost a little stunned. "...Well, to Bakugou's question, you know...that's a good point. As for your question, Midoriya, the next town is around...maybe thirty miles."

Ochako looked confused. "Was there any traffic here from Chinmoku and that town?"

"...I...wouldn't think so. It happened at nighttime, so maybe there weren't any drivers there to look at the town's disarray." Aizawa theorized. "Other than that, I don't think anybody heard a commotion outside the town when the event took place...hence the name 'Silent Massacre in the Hills'...hm. Well, it's called that for a reason, and this occurrence was about one-hundred thirty-something years old…" He stood there for a while as if to think about it for a bit.

"...Are you sure this isn't made up?" Kaminari asked suspiciously.

Jirou sighed irritably, "No, ya doofus, of course this isn't made up. There wouldn't be a memorial here if that's the case."

Kaminari pouted at Kyouka, while Aizawa went back to say, "Either way, this place shows us that the Quirk we have is _our_ responsibility. Whether you decide to use it anywhere, know the repercussions and take precautions every day when you one day become heroes yourselves. For Uoruta, even though he suffered a rough life, he should know that unleashing that kind of power would be hazardous, no matter what type of Quirk it is."

Some of the students nodded to that, while some made hums of agreement. Bakugou just kept scowling and said nothing, unsure of what to really say.

As for Izuku, he took the advice to heart. He really has to find a way to control One For All, or else he'll get brutally mangled beyond repair. That time with Todoroki almost cost him not having a lot of offers from Pro Heroes. Maybe he can find a way with All Might's old teacher, Gran Torino.

' _I really have to be strong, heck, even stronger to contain One For All. If I don't, then I fail All Might, my Mom, and myself…'_ Midoriya frowned, a melancholy look emerging onto his features when thinking about that possibility. ' _I won't let that happen...I won't fail.'_

Aizawa then broke out of Izuku's thoughts by saying, "Okay, now that some of you know about the history of what happened in Chinmoku, we should go to the hotel and check into our rooms. The school made reservations for ten rooms, so each of you will have to share one."

The homeroom teacher then gave Kaminari and Mineta a droll glare. "And before you two say anything, no, I'm not gonna mix up some of the girls with the boys rooms."

The two perverts sighed dejectedly.

"Alright then." Aizawa resumed and told the other students, "As of now, I'm gonna pick each of you in pairs on who'll be sharing a room in the hotel. Until then, when you all go to your rooms, you can change into ordinary clothes if you like. We'll be driving a tour bus to look around the town of Chinmoku, and a guide will give us an hour-long tour through parts of it. Now without further ado..." he then began to pick out which classmate will share their hotel room.

* * *

' _I'm really thankful Aizawa-Sensei didn't pair Kaachan and me up.'_ Izuku thought gratefully.

As soon as they reached their room, each carrying their roll-on luggage behind them, Midoriya opened the hotel room with their electronic key, activating it as he opened the door. Behind him was Iida, who rolled his suitcase behind him. Paired up, both Izuku and Tenya entered their two-bedded room and settled their things inside.

"Man, that whole story was pretty sad, wasn't it? I never knew something like that even happened." Midoriya commented as soon as he sat on the bottom edge of his bed.

"Hm. It's one of the cases that people wish to forget. Sometimes certain Quirks can be very disastrous. And without a stable and mentally sound mind, a certain user with any kind of destructive Quirk can be dangerous." Iida informed him.

Izuku frowned. "Still, I can't help but feel...well, _bad_ for Uoruta. I mean, he was abandoned at birth, homeless, and most of all...he was an _outcast_." That word stung harder in his soul than he could ever think. Perhaps he was just like Uoruta in some way...besides the massacre part. He resumed, saying, "Even if he had a Quirk later on and used it wrongfully, I still can't help but feel... _sorry_ for the guy. Especially with what Quirk society is like today."

Tenya stared at his friend in solemn silence as he stood beside the bottom of his own bed. He sat down on the very edge of his mattress as well and gave out a sigh, "It is sad…"

They both sat on their beds in silence…

Tenya, however, turned from where he sat to look at Izuku and said, "I guess this place is also reminding us that some people aren't so fortunate to have Quirks...that we need to be aware and help them out as best as we can…"

Midoriya turned to look across from his bed to Iida's with interest.

"...It...kind of thrives me more to be a hero…just like...my brother..." Tenya's gaze lowered onto the floor.

Frowning at his friend's despair, Midoriya got up from his bed to look at him and say, "Look, Iida, I...I know what you're going through is hurting you...a lot...I mean, if I knew that a Hero that I know and admired got…" Shaking his head at the thought, he continued, "Either way, I just...I know what you're feeling, but...I don't want this to eat you up inside. And I understand, I really do. It's just...I don't want you to think that you have or _need_ to do something about it."

Tenya gazed at his friend, the surprise written all over his face.

"I know just from looking at you, that you _want_ to do something about it...but…" Izuku sighed, "...Look, the most important thing is, your brother is alright. He's recovering and...that's all that matters. You still get to have...heck, you still get to _be_ _with_ your Hero, your own brother…and...and like you said, we, including you, me, and our class, need to thrive on becoming a better hero. I mean, I know _I_ need to be better…" he glanced at the floor, his words dying there.

Iida just looked at him quietly, and with a small smile on his face, he said, "I appreciate it, Midoriya. I really do. And I know you understand...but...to me, it's more of a personal matter. I...I can't let what happened to my brother slide...Stain not only harmed my brother, but he...he disgraced the Ingenium name...it...it makes me feel...helpless just thinking about it..." he frowned as he sulked, looking at the floor. "...but it also made me feel... _enraged_. Enraged that a person would just...humiliate my brother and damage him the way that he did…" Iida looked up at Midoriya with sad but solemn eyes. "...This rage will not go away until I somehow confront Stain myself."

Midoriya stood there, silent upon hearing Tenya's words. "..." He sighed, "Iida...I get it. Again, I really do...but...just try not to let it cloud your judgment, and...well, just try to enjoy the present right now. Also...just know that we're all here for you. I, and everyone else, really mean that."

Tenya kept his gaze on Midoriya for a moment, until he gave out another small smile. Nodding, he said. "Thank you, Midoriya. I'll try as best as I can...I...know I haven't been acting like myself lately. Really, I'm...I'm glad to have friends like you and Uraraka. I'm also glad to have classmates who are very supportive as well...I'll...I'll make the best of this trip."

Izuku gave his friend a small smile and a nod as well.

' _Well...it's a start. He almost sounds like he means it this time, at least. That's a step in the right direction...don't worry, Iida. We'll really be there for you.'_

* * *

Uraraka and Asui both settled their things in their rooms, and when they did, they had the time to talk about things as they changed into their casual clothes.

"Man, talk about a depressing story, huh?" Tsuyu said as she unbuttoned her school uniform top.

"Yeah...I feel bad for that Uoruta guy. Even that Riza lady." Uraraka said sympathetically as she took off her school uniform shirt, being in just her white t-shirt.

"Yeah, Uoruta's life really is a bummer. And that Riza woman had to bear the weight of actually killing someone." Tsuyu agreed as she took off her skirt.

"Hm…I think it's really terrible that his parents had abandoned him like that. That's very despicable in my book." Uraraka glowered at that as she let her skirt fall.

"I agree…" It made Asui think about her parents, how they work so hard to support her and her two siblings. She takes care of her little brother and sister as often as she can when they're off to work overtime. And she would do anything for her family...even become a great Hero to support them. "...Poor guy." Tsuyu mumbled soberly to herself.

Ochako then took the time to get her skinny jeans on, as well as put on a dark pink long-sleeved crew neck t-shirt. As she sat on the ground and put her black flats on, she thought about Uoruta's situation a little more deeply.

' _To think, he was abandoned at birth...it makes me just mad thinking about it! Some people can be outright terrible…'_

Uraraka looked up after putting her left flat on to see that Tsuyu was now in her denim shorts, but still in her black knee-high socks as well. She seemed to be texting on her phone.

As she stood up from her sitting position, Uraraka asked her, "Hey, who are you texting?"

Tsuyu, a little startled, turned her head to the gravity girl. "Oh! Um, just my little brother and sister, Samidare and Satsuki. I was texting them to say, uh…" She scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. "Well, I mean, when I thought about the whole incident that happened in that Chinmoku town and with that Uoruta guy not having parents or even siblings to...say...you know, to say that they love him, I thought I...tell not only my siblings, but my mom and dad that I love them as well." She finished with a slight blush.

"Oh." Uraraka blinked, but soon she smiled at Tsuyu's gesture. "Aww, well that's sweet, Tsu."

Tsuyu chuckled, "Yeah, I'm a softie when it comes to family."

Ochako giggled. "You know what? I'm gonna do that as well for my mom and dad." She got to her phone that was on the room's desk and started to text her parents.

"Heh, well I'm glad I inspired ya. *ribbit*" Asui smiled.

"Oh yeah! I really do love my mom and dad as well. I don't have any siblings myself, so it's just me and my parents. I plan to become a Hero someday to help them out, so I hope this internship with Gunhead will lead me in the right direction." Ochako told her.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Tsuyu had to ask.

Ochako looked sheepish, "Well...I guess I can tell you. I...well, I really want to help out my parents with their finances. We're kind of not spending too much money on things right now, and my dad's construction business is kind of slow. I want to bring the money in to support them as best as I can."

Tsuyu smiled at that. "Ah, okay. That's really cool of you, Uraraka."

Uraraka laughed bashfully. "Thanks. Of course, I also want to be a Hero to help others as well."

"Oh yeah, of course." Tsuyu nodded as she put on a light green short-sleeved t-shirt, letting her unique ponytail go through the collar of it. It has a cartoon frog face on the front of the chest area of her shirt.

Uraraka looked at the shirt and giggled. "You're certainly keeping up with this frog persona, aren't ya?"

Blinking, Tsuyu looked down at her shirt. "Oh, heh, yeah. I mean, I have to, my Quirk is basically a 'Frog' type."

Uraraka giggled again, and after that, it soon went quiet. As soon as the Gravity Quirk user texted her sweet message to her parents, she stood there to muse, wondering if she could ask the frog girl the question that was kind of bothering her.

"...Tsu?"

As Tsuyu was putting her dark green sneakers on, she turned her head to Ochako. "Yeah? *ribbit* "

"...How long have you known Deku?"

Arching an eyebrow in confusion at that, Tsuyu said, "Uh...well, I've first talked to him during the whole USJ incident. We were paired up along with Mineta when that Black Mist guy shrouded and teleported us at the water zone. All three of us worked together to fight off some villains. Why?"

"Oh, um, no reason! I just thought you and...Deku…" Ochako then looked down, a little shy as she rubbed her arm. "...Uh, i-it's-n-nothing."

Tsuyu would usually just shrug at that and leave it be, but the gears were turning in her head as she read the gravity girl's body language. "Hmm…" As soon as she put the other shoe on, she stood up and put a hand on her hip and an index finger on her chin. "...Do you have a thing for Deku?"

"Eh!?" Ochako's eyes widened in shock when she looked up at Asui. "I-I-uh-I-I-w-well-I-I mean-it's-it's just, I-I mean, y-you see, I-uh-I-well, the thing is-I-uh-w-w-w-w-well, I, uhhhh…" It was then she ran out of steam to continue her sentence.

The frog girl looked at her oddly and said, "Sooo...that's a yes?"

"...Yes." Ochako blushed as she glanced down, feeling trapped and cornered.

Asui looked at Uraraka with the same unreadable expression she gives her classmates, except she blinked two times. "Oh. Okay then."

Uraraka looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

"Yeah, that's cool." Tsuyu said with a shrug. She arched another brow, "What, you thought I like Midoriya that way?"

"Oh! I mean...well...I was just curious…" Ochako felt embarrassed for even mentioning it.

Tsuyu tittered, "Hey, no worries. Nah, I just think he's a cool guy. When he tried to punch that hand villain for using his, um...I think decomposing Quirk? I guess? Anyway, when that villain was gonna use his Quirk on me, Midoriya tried to punch him with his Quirk, but that Nomu guy blocked it. Even though he tried, it was still pretty cool of him, especially when he was using it at the Sports Festival when he fought Todoroki. So all in all, yeah, I just have some good respect for the guy. I have no romantic feelings for him, just so you know."

"Oh...um, okay." Ochako gave out an awkward smile. "So...he saved you from that hand villain?"

"Well, like I said, he tried to." Tsuyu corrected.

"Oh. Well…" Uraraka lightened up as she giggled, "That would seem like Deku. He's always acting out for other people."

"Heh, yeah. He's kind of impulsive, really. Which is actually a good trait in a Hero." Tsuyu informed.

"Heh, yeah...Deku would indeed make a great Hero someday." Uraraka nodded with a confident smile.

* * *

"So you heard about that Chinmoku Massacre before, Momo?" Jirou asked the Creation Quirk user as she put on a purple t-shirt with black electrical font words 'ROCK ON' on it. She also has her black denim skinny jeans on.

"The Silent Massacre in the Hills?" Momo called out into the bathroom to change into her clothes, for both Momo and Jirou's privacy.

Jirou sweatdropped. "Um...I'm just gonna call it the 'Chinmoku Massacre'. It just sounds shorter."

"Hmm…you know, 'The Silent Massacre in the Hills'...does sound a little lengthy. I'm going to call it the 'Chinmoku Massacre' as well." Momo decided in the bathroom.

Kyouka chuckled. "But yeah, you heard about that in your school?"

"Oh yes. My private school was very intent on letting us learn about Quirk History and Quirk Biology."

"Hm. Well, I have to say, that story was downright depressing for everyone involved in it." Jirou said as she put her black buckled punk-rock combat boots on.

"Oh, I know. It is pretty sad…" Momo was silent for a moment in the bathroom and then said, "It is odd though."

"What's odd?" Jirou asked as she finished wrapping some buckles onto her left boot, now going to the other one to wrap the buckles onto her right.

"It's just...well, Uoruta was pronounced Quirkless, but when his Quirk was awakened inside of him, he just used it to lay a destructive path onto the town."

"Well, Aizawa-Sensei did say that this Uoruta guy did have some mental issues. I mean, being abandoned at birth and being an outcast can do that to you, I would think. So maybe he snapped?"

"Yeah...I suppose. But still, even then, why would he do that? I mean, I don't think from other reports he attacked anybody before in his life, nor did he really kill anyone."

"Well, we weren't really there, so...I mean, was there ever a report that said he attacked or killed anybody?"

"...I...don't think so. I never read anything that indicated Uoruta actually harmed anyone. ...In fact, as Aizawa-Sensei said, the woman named Riza wasn't affected by Uoruta's Quirk at all." Momo was silent for a moment. "...I don't know how his Quirk works, but if the whole town was under hallucinations, I would think Riza would be affected by it too, if that's the case. Which means...did she killed him because she was affected as well?"

Jirou hummed in thought as she stood there with a hand to her chin. "...Well, even though this Riza gal survived, it's still a tragedy for her and the town of Chinmoku, as well as for Uoruta."

"Yeah." Momo agreed to that. Another moment of silence and she said with determination, "I have a feeling this trip will be very important to us on how we use our Quirks responsibly. Not all Quirks are created equal, and it's our responsibility to use them wisely to help others as well as fight any wrongdoers."

Chuckling, Jirou said, "Well, yeah, I would think that's why we're here, Yaomomo."

"Well...I was just stating it out loud to myself, really." Momo said a little sheepishly.

Jirou turned to the bathroom entrance that Momo was in, and could practically feel the unsureness coming from her tone. Frowning, she said, "Hey...you'll make a great Hero someday, Momo. Don't worry about what happened back at the Festival, alright?

"...I won't, Jirou...thanks." Momo said gratefully. "If anything, it motivates me more to become even better."

Kyouka smiled, feeling like her tone sounded a little uplifted. "That's the spirit!"

Momo chuckled also and a few seconds passed until she said, "Well, okay then. I'm all dressed up." She came out of the bathroom. "What do you think?"

"Hey, looking good, Momo!" Jirou smirked.

The taller girl blushed a tiny bit as she displayed her attire. She still had her hair in her signature ponytail, but this time, she has a white women's short-sleeved buttoned-up collared shirt, which was tucked in a red tartan plaid high-waisted mini skirt with a slit in it. She was also wearing black knee-high socks and black ankle flat boots.

"You don't think this is too formal?" Momo asked a little shyly. "This is a casual event, so I don't want to feel like I'm overdressing. I mean, I want to be considerate to my classmates. Honestly, I didn't even know we were coming over here to tour Chinmoku."

"Heh, yeah, Aizawa-Sensei failed to mention that, didn't he?" Jirou mumbled. "But don't worry about it, Momo. You look great, and no one else is thinking about what you wear around here...well, I would say except Mineta and Kaminari, but they're probably thinking about what the _other_ _girls'_ are _wearing_ as of right now too." she bitterly said, scowling at the thought of those two perverts.

Momo noticed the slight disdain in her friend's tone when she emphasized their other female classmates and was a little caught off guard by that. She didn't think Jirou had any animosity towards the other girls, and even though she and herself didn't think too lightly of Mineta and Kaminari, she wouldn't think her friend would be that hostile with them. If anything, she would've looked annoyed at the two when mentioned or when they were doing something lecherous.

It was then when Jirou was getting her large leather jacket out of her suitcase and draping it around her shoulders to fully cover her top half, a lightbulb went on in Momo's mind.

' _She...has been pretty bitter lately when it comes to appearances_ …'

"But yeah, again, you're not downgrading our classmates by looking good or anything, Yaomomo," Kyouka reassured her as she fully put her jacket on. "You look really great! As normal as can be!"

"...You know, you look really great as well, Jirou," Momo told her friend in an honest and sincere tone.

Jirou, a bit startled by that comment, looked at Yaoyorozu in surprise. "Huh!?"

"You do. You don't give yourself too much credit. I think you're absolutely beautiful, and you don't have to feel jealous of other girls' appearances. You're very pretty, and I think any guy would be blind to not see you as an attractive young woman." Momo reassured her.

Kyouka blushed a bit as well, not sure how to take this. "Uh..." She shook her head to clear her mind a bit and began to say, "Okay, first off, you're like, just reassuring me right now, correct? Nothing stronger than that, right? Nothing at all?"

Momo blinked in confusion. "Um...yes? I mean, wasn't I? I hope I was...and what do you mean by 'nothing stronger than that'? I just felt like I should tell you that because you're my friend, and that it's true."

The rocker girl just looked at her for a moment, until she chuckled a bit. "Oh...oh, okay." She then sighed a breath of relief. "Oh thank goodness."

Still blinking in confusion, Momo asked. "Did...I say something wrong?"

"Oh!" Jirou shot up as she stood. "Uh, no, you didn't! I was just, um…" She sweatdropped again. Lowering her head to not let her see the noticeable blush on her porcelain face, she muttered. "Well...at least you assumed that I liked guys."

Now Momo was really puzzled. "What?"

"Nothing! Nothing, just nevermind." Jirou assured her. "Still…" She looked sheepish as she scratched her cheek. "You read me like a book, huh?"

"Um…" Momo decided to let it go and answered the question with a smile. "Well, I have read a lot of books."

Kyouka laughed at the joke, as did Momo also. When their laughter died down, the rocker girl stood there for a moment in silence. "...I appreciate the compliment, but...I don't know, I just...don't feel that pretty. I just feel like...me."

"That's okay, though," Momo told her sincerely. "Being yourself adds more to the beauty."

Jirou blushed at the compliment. "Aw, come on. I'm not _that_ pretty."

Yaoyorozu looked at her in pity and said kindly to her. "Jirou, take that jacket off."

Jirou stood there, afraid to do so. Momo gave her an encouraging smile and placed her hands on Jirou's shoulders, which the latter looked up at her friend.

"Jirou, no matter what anyone else says, you're your _own_ kind of beautiful. And you surely _are_ beautiful. I mean it. Honestly, I wish I had porcelain skin like yours. Yours is very luminous and gorgeous."

Kyouka blinked at that. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Momo nodded with the same encouraging smile.

"...Heh...I, uh...I guess I can shed off this jacket. I mean, it _is_ pretty nice outside. Plus, don't want to sweat too much." Jirou reasoned with herself.

Momo backed away from Kyouka, the latter soon began removing her jacket to show off her top half and her bare arms. The rocker girl then placed her jacket on her bed and stood normally, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"There. You look really great, Jirou." complimented Momo.

"...Yeah...I...I don't need a jacket. It's...it's nice out." Jirou said with a nod as well, assuring herself of any doubts.

The Creation Quirk user nodded with a smile. "Believe me, you look fabulous. There's no need to feel self-conscious about how you look. You're a beautiful woman, and you should feel proud of what you have."

"...Thanks, Momo," Kyouka said to her gratefully.

"Hey, you helped me with my insecurities, so I thought I'd help out with yours," Momo said with a shrug and a smile.

Jirou smiled back at her friend in appreciation. "You're the best, Yaomomo."

* * *

Katsuki and Shouto(who, believe it or not, are roommates) have their clothes on, and were both sitting on their beds in awkward silence.

Todoroki sat on his bed in dark blue jeans, with a gray cotton short-sleeved polo shirt and red casual sneakers on. Bakugou sat on his own bed with a red short-sleeved shirt, baggy blue jeans, and black chunky sneakers.

...They sat there for a while

"..." Katsuki just scowled as he sat on the bed with his arms folded, staring at Todoroki.

"..." Shouto kept silent, staring at Bakugou as he tapped his finger on the mattress.

' _Well...this is an awkward match-up...what was Aizawa-Sensei even thinking, pairing us to be roommates? ...He probably wanted a good laugh.'_ Shouto thought in mild annoyance.

Speaking of annoyances, Bakugou finally said something. "Hey, Two-Face, what time is it?"

Todoroki looked at him with irritated narrowed eyes. "The clock is right there on the nightstand. You _can_ look at it. And don't call me Two-Face, that's a villain from Batman, and I'm nowhere near a villain."

Katsuki growled, and glanced at the alarm clock, muttering, "Smart-Ass Nerd."

_**16:50** _

"...Hmph. Ten minutes then?" Bakugou said with a sneer.

"Looks like it," Shouto confirmed. "We have to be there around 1700 hours."

"...Tch." Bakugou got up from his bed and walked to the exit of their room.

"Where are you going?" Todoroki asked with a raised eyebrow.

Katsuki looked back with a glare. "To the lobby, dumbass. I'm not gonna sit in our room and wait for the time to pass. Besides, we don't got nothing to fuckin' talk about, so if you want to sit in here and be late, then go ahead." He opened the door and made his way out.

Shouto looked at the door that Katsuki exited out of…

"...He'll be a _very_ difficult one to tolerate." He muttered to himself.

* * *

**5:00 PM**

**(17:00)**

* * *

Aizawa and the students all gathered in the lobby, each of them in their casual clothes, as well as Aizawa himself. His attire was the oddest one out of the bunch as he was wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt with white palm tree designs on them, and beige colored shorts with sandals. The only thing that he kept on were the scarves.

Izuku was wearing a blue shirt with All Might on the front, as well as some jeans with some red sneakers, while Tenya was wearing a white and blue striped polo shirt, a pair of jeans as well, and some brown casual sneakers.

"Okay, now that we're all gathered here, the tour bus will be coming over. We'll wait outside until it does. Follow me." Aizawa told them as he led them outside of the hotel and onto the driveway where they waited for the tour bus.

As they waited, Ochako and Tsuyu were standing next to each other. Tsuyu looked at Ochako, who the latter was glancing at Izuku at times.

' _Hmm…'_ It was then Asui thought of an idea. She tapped on Uraraka's shoulder, giving her a start and she turned her attention to Tsuyu.

"Huh? Uh, yes Tsu?" asked Ochako.

"Why don't you sit next to Deku again?" Tsuyu whispered to her.

Uraraka's eyes widened at the claim. "W-What?" she whispered.

"Come on, *ribbit* you need to be a little bold."

"But-But, I don't want to sit next to him _again_! I mean, that's too obvious! What if he realizes it?" Ochako whispered.

"Aw, come on, Chako, play with a little danger."

"Tsu!"

Meanwhile with Izuku and Tenya…

Izuku stood there waiting for the tour bus as well, but he couldn't help but glance at Iida every once in a while to see how he's holding up. He glanced at his friend who was in front of him and next to Kirishima and Tokoyami.

' _I hope Iida is feeling a little bit better…'_ thought Midoriya, hopeful that the talk he gave him was of any help.

"Hey, Midoriya?" said a quiet voice.

Startled, Izuku turned his head to see Shouto, who looked at him with a curious gaze.

"Oh, uh, hey, Todoroki." said Izuku in a quiet tone as well.

"Hey." Todoroki nodded. "I hope I'm not being intrusive, but you've been glancing at Iida for a while. Does it have to do with...his brother?"

"Oh, no, you're not. Sorry, it's just…" Midoriya sighed. "Yeah...we had a talk in our room about his brother and what happened to him. I'm just hoping he'll get out of it."

"Hm." Shouto nods again. "I would think these things take time. I understand his position, though." He glanced at Iida.

' _If someone you looked up to has been harmed or injured, or heck, even both, then you're bound to feel depressed...or helpless.'_ The Temperature Quirk user frowned in his thoughts.

"Yeah...I just hope he'll turn back to his normal self soon." Midoriya muttered, a little desolate.

Todoroki hummed in agreement. "Maybe you should leave him alone with his thoughts for a while."

"...I guess. I just...really hope he's okay." Midoriya said with his head lowered.

They stood there next to each other for a little while…

"...You're a good friend, Midoriya." Shouto said to him.

"Huh?" Izuku turned his head to Shouto.

"Iida is lucky to have someone look after him." he continued not looking back at Izuku. After a couple of seconds of silence, Shouto then said, "Thank you again for letting me use my fire. I appreciate it."

Izuku looked at Todoroki, flattered by the thanks. Giving him a small smile back at him, he nodded and said, "No problem."

Shouto, without looking back, gave out a small smile as well.

However, behind them, someone overheard their conversation.

Momo stood there, taking what they said into account.

' _I know it isn't polite to eavesdrop, but one of our classmates, our class representative nonetheless, is having a hard time…'_ Momo frowned. ' _Hmm...maybe as the_ vice _class representative, I can give out some reassurance...but I haven't really communicated with Iida that much...which is shameful on my part. I got to communicate with my classmates a bit more…'_ She glanced at the back of Midoriya for a second. ' _...Midoriya really is doing a good job in reaching out to our class...I wonder what would've changed if he'd been our class representative instead?'_

"Okay," Aizawa told everyone once he was done with his phone, "The tour bus is coming this way, so everyone get ready. I advise you all to be quiet during the tour and only ask questions _about_ the town, as well as the tour."

All of the students complied, and soon the tour bus trolley came up to the driveway. The teenagers all piled into the bus and they climbed in.

Tenya was the third one who went in, and Izuku was about to go in as the fifth person, when he stopped and noticed Momo was beside him going into the tour bus.

"Oh! Uh, s-sorry, Y-Yaoyorozu! You, uh, y-you go first." Midoriya stuttered nervously.

"Oh, um, thank you, Midoriya." Momo smiled with a nod and climbed into the bus.

Izuku, however, thought, ' _Well...I probably should just let Iida be alone in his thoughts. I don't want to crowd him.'_

"Deku?"

Midoriya jumped and turned his attention to Uraraka, who called his name. "Uh, y-yeah?"

"Aren't you, uh...going inside?" Ochako asked him.

"Oh! Uh, um, nah, y-you go in first!" Midoriya said a little nervously.

"Oh, um...okay." Uraraka smiled at him and went inside.

Once she entered the bus, Izuku was going to enter as well, until Bakugou shoved him out of the way.

"Out of the way, ya damn _Nerd_ , and stop holding the fuckin' line up!" Katsuki sneered at him as he went inside the bus.

Midoriya frowned at Bakugou's rude attitude but said nothing. He just took it and went inside the bus.

* * *

Iida sat at the back left window seat, looking out the window as his mind wanders.

' _Tensei...I'll let the bastard who did this to you pay…'_

"Can I sit here?"

Iida looked over to his left to see that Momo was offering to sit next to him.

"Oh...um, yes, you can, Yaoyorozu."

Momo smiled and nodded. "Thanks." She sat next to Iida in the two-seat row.

Meanwhile, Uraraka sat on the left middle row of seats, near the window seat.

' _I wonder if Midoriya will really sit next to me? I mean, I was the one who sat next to him, but...will he do the same with me? Oh goodness, I don't know! It'll be too much for me to bear if he decided to! I mean, I wouldn't know what to say, or-or-or do, or-'_

"Oi, move over, Round Face."

"Oh! S-Sure-" Uraraka froze when she realized what she was doing and _who_ she was letting in the seat row.

Katsuki plopped down on the seat next to Ochako…

"...Uuuuuuuh...eh?" Ochako's eyes were wide and her mouth was agape in shock.

Bakugou turned to look at the girl with a scowl.

Uraraka just looked at Katsuki, feeling the anxious sweat coming down her face.

"...The fuck you lookin' at?" Bakugou eyed her with a sneer.

"...Oh! U-U-Uh…" Ochako gulped. "...I, uh...I was, uh…" She then looked at the window next to her. "Nothing!"

Raising an eyebrow at her, Bakugou looked at her peculiarly. "...Tch. Whatever." He then looked away from her.

Uraraka, however, was trembling in apprehension.

' _This...was_ not _what I was hoping for!'_

Shouto was also sitting in the back right row of seats near a window. Looking outside of it, he pondered over certain things.

' _My fire...it's mine and mine alone...that's what mother told me...and that's what Midoriya told me as well…'_

"Hey, is this seat taken?" said a female's voice.

Todoroki glanced at the speaker, which was Jirou.

"Hm? Oh, no. Go on ahead." Shouto told her.

"Thanks," Kyouka said with a smirk and sat next to Shouto.

And lastly, with Midoriya…

"Well, I have the window seat again," Izuku said to himself.

"Midoriya?"

"Huh?" Midoriya turned to the speaker, which was Tsuyu. "Oh, uh, hey, Tsuyu."

"Call me Tsu."

"ACK! Right, right! Sorry!"

Tsuyu sighed. "Nah, it's okay." She looked over somewhere to her right and frowned.

' _Oh no! Did I offend her that time? Oh man, I hope I didn't!'_ Izuku panicked on the inside. He hates to offend people, even those that he doesn't really know that well.

"Ah man, poor Uraraka."

' _...Huh?'_

"Huh?" Izuku uttered.

The Frog girl turned her head to Midoriya. "Oh, well, Uraraka is sitting next to Bakugou."

Izuku let that sink in for a second. He then realized, "Oh! Y-You mean she's sitting next to K-Kaachan?"

"Kaachan? You mean Bakugou, right? *ribbit*"

"U-Uh, yeah, right! Yeah, sorry, I meant Bakugou, heh."

Tsuyu raised an eyebrow. "Do you two seem to know each other or something?"

"Uh…" Izuku rubbed the back of his head in diffidence. "It's...well…" He sighed, "...It's kind of complicated." he winced.

"Hmm…" Asui put a finger to her chin seeing the pained look on Izuku's face. "...*ribbit* Okay then. You don't have to tell me. But I will ask, is anyone sitting here?"

"Wha?" Izuku looked up at Tsuyu in surprise.

"Well, yeah. Everyone has a seat at this point, so would it be okay if I sit here?" Asui asked him, her cute frog face unchanging.

"Oh! Uh, y-yeah, sure, Tsuy-TSU!" Izuku corrected himself in time.

Tsuyu snickered. "There you go. You're learning."

Midoriya laughed weakly in embarrassment, while Tsuyu chuckled as she sat next to the Quirk Inheritor.

It was then the speakers around the tour bus began to blare with the voice of the tour guide.

" _ **Hello, Class 1-A from UA! We're now about to take the drive over to Chinmoku starting the tour! My name is Masahiro Ito and I'll be your tour guide! Our next destination will be the entrance to the infamous town that started the even more infamous event, 'The Silent Massacre in the Hills'. As you may know, the town of Chinmoku is named after the word 'Silence', which carries the name in this area with its serene hills, beautiful lake, and forestry. It's basically a hidden gem in Japan, and it has gorgeous views of all these things, and can be viewed from anywhere else in this vicinity; whether it be in the town or outside of the town. But before we drive to Chinmoku, though, let me advise all of you, that we will not be out of this vehicle at any time. We will be driving around parts of the town to go to certain places that are of importance."**_

"Huh? So we're not getting out?" Ojiro wondered out loud.

"I wonder why that is?" Sato also wondered.

As if the tour guide heard their questions from the driver's seat, he gave out the reply. " _ **For those who are wondering why we can't get out of the tour bus, it's for three reasons: One, this is considered a memorial ground and we wish to remain respectful to the people who lost their lives here. Although, secondly, we are as of this moment constructing walkways around areas of the town to let visitors tour around places of interest. We are also revitalizing it back to its former glory, restoring buildings such as the town's fine lodging establishments, the historical society building, some shops, the hospital, the city hall, and so on. The third and final reason, is that the land that the town was built upon has been said to be some form of a sacred place, which is said to exist a very long time ago."**_

"A sacred place?" Izuku said to himself in interest.

"Sacred place, huh? *ribbit* Like an ancient burial ground or something?" Tsuyu wondered out loud.

"Whoa..." Uraraka said in fascinated curiosity. "I wonder what it's sacred for?"

Bakugou scoffed at the thought of it. ' _Sacred place? Yeah, right. If it's so sacred, then why is there a fucking town built upon it?'_

Meanwhile, Momo also has a curious look on her face. "Hmm...interesting."

" _ **For those wondering what the land's purpose could be, or what it's actually sacred for, we actually do not know those answers. Those records are locked deep in the Chinmoku Historical Society building that's in the town center, which we cannot go to and access because of the first reason we stated. Although, we do have all the documents copied in the museum at the end of our tour, there are some we cannot access. For now though, the only archives we can obtain are copied and displayed in the 'Chinmoku Museum' outside of the town, while the original documents are still in the Chinmoku Historical Society building."**_

"Wow...they're serious about preserving their history here, huh?" Jirou said with a sweatdrop. Shouto hummed in agreement, although it only interested him to know more about the town.

" _ **So again, we advise all of you to stay in the bus at all times while we go through the tour. The buildings that you will see will still have their belongings inside, and although we are revitalizing the exterior of these buildings, they have still been neglected for over a century on the inside, so we appreciate that there will be no vandalism whatsoever to these buildings if you wish to set foot upon the town someday. And now, without further ado, we shall start the tour and drive our way down into the town of Chinmoku! Other safety precautions-"**_

While some still listened to the tour guide, others drowned him out as they occupied themselves in the bus.

And with that said, the bus drove their way down to the town…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! This seems like a good place to stop! :D And believe it or not, the next chapter will not be when they officially enter the town! That's in chapter four! XD But there will be some...surprises in the next chapter that will lead up to them going to the town, which they'll arrive around, say, sundown? ;D
> 
> So yeah, what do you all think of this so far? Is it mysterious? Are all the characters' interactions good? I hope it's starting to be a good read for you all! 8D
> 
> Give me a kudos, bookmark, or a comment and tell me what you all think! :D I love to know! :)
> 
> Until next time, keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP


	3. A Ghost Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students tour around the town of Chinmoku, learning certain things about the once occupied community. Meanwhile, Iida sees someone in the seemingly abandoned town, while Izuku hears someone as well...someone familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder, I let the tour guide say some extra stuff in the last chapter. Go read the last bit of the second chapter so you won't be confused by why the tour guide said what he said. X)

Today was a cloudy, but otherwise nice day.

On the hotel grounds, there was another path that leads to the town. It was a road that was behind the hotel, which made a shortcut to the town of Chinmoku. As soon as they exited the hotel grounds, the tour guide began his narration.

" _ **This road we are taking has been funded by the town of Shepazuguren, which is thirty miles away from Chinmoku. It had been installed and completed exactly one-hundred and ten years ago in 2040, which this year marks the 110th anniversary the town became a national memorial park."**_

"Whoa, that long ago?" Izuku muttered in surprise.

"Wow. *ribbit* Why haven't we heard all of this in the history books?" Tsuyu muttered as she pondered with her finger on her chin.

" _ **The old way to the town, which is a highway exit, will be where we end our tour to Chinmoku, which is exactly four minutes away next to our hotel. At the end of our tour, there will be the aforementioned museum as well as the gift shop, a shopping area, multiple restaurants, and a small amusement park."**_

"Aw, sweet!" Kaminari said with a grin. Everyone seemed to agree with that bit of information as they all chattered among themselves.

" _ **As of now, the road we are now on is named 'Remembrance Road', which up ahead is the entrance gate that leads the way into the town. Also up ahead past the entrance, are the cherry blossoms that have been planted by the sides of the road and have been donated by the community of Shepazuguren as well. They are there to honor the fallen victims of the town's tragedy."**_

They eventually drove down the road and came up to multiple cherry blossoms that are lined up on each side of the road. Soon, they were surrounded by them as they kept riding down the path.

"Oooh...wow. How pretty…" Ochako said in awe as she gazed out at the window.

Katsuki just turned his attention at the window for a moment and sneered. Scoffing, he leaned back as he relaxed in his seat. Ochako turned to Bakugou and frowned at his rude attitude.

Todoroki looked on at the cherry blossoms out the window and felt...relaxed. He felt a sense of calm when he gazed at the falling petals as they slowly floated to the ground…

He remembered a time when he was little, being with his mother at a park, where cherry blossoms were softly coming down around them. He was so mesmerized by them...and his mother looked so angelic. She carried his hand as she led him around that park…

Jirou looked out the window as well, entranced by the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom. She really wasn't girly per se, but she can certainly admire natural beauty when it's in plain view for her to see.

"Wow...they're beautiful." Kyouka muttered in wonder.

"Yeah..." Todoroki agreed as he kept looking at the trees out the window.

' _I remember a time when my family wasn't...straining, in a way.'_ Shouto thought in melancholy, a small frown on his face. ' _...Damn it, Old Man. You and your stupid pride…'_

Meanwhile with Iida and Yaoyorozu, the latter couldn't help but be in awe at such a beautiful sight.

"They're...gorgeous." Momo whispered, enchanted at the scene.

Even Iida was distracted as it pulled him away from his thoughts, looking on at the pink petals as they slowly floated down, too silent and mesmerized to say anything.

' _...This place...it really does give out some sort of...presence, doesn't it?'_ Tenya thought in a daze. It really did remind him of the times he went on those hiking trips with his family…

Izuku and Tsuyu both were in awe as well, admiring the tranquility of the cherry blossoms that were lined up on each side of the road as they entered the town.

"I got to say, this creates a nice atmosphere. *ribbit* The cherry blossoms make you believe you're in for something special." Tsuyu said as she looked at the trees that were surrounding their moving vehicle.

"Yeah...this could really be an interesting and meaningful trip here." Izuku muttered, his eyes not leaving the majestic scene before him.

However, the cherry blossoms stopped as they approached the gate.

As they're driving down the road, they come up to a high wooden arched entrance that has a mechanical operated iron-barred gate, blocking their way. On the top of the wooden arch, a sign, along with a plaque on the bottom said this:

**CHINMOKU MEMORIAL PARK**

**...Never Forget...**

The tour bus stopped in front of the gate, and thanks to the scan detectors that read the tour bus' side tag, the metal barred doors opened inward, letting them go on ahead.

" _ **We are now entering the park! Soon, in about six minutes, we will be in the town of Chinmoku."**_

The tour bus passed through the gates…on their way to the town.

* * *

The landscape had changed quite a bit as the bus drove its way further up on the road. Ordinary trees were now scattered and adjoining the road and the tour bus, unlike the cherry blossoms that welcomed them, making it plain as day that they've reached a forest of some kind.

Unlike the entrance to the park, which felt cheery and hopeful, on the other side of the gate was...almost the exact opposite. The road that occupied the forest went into a straight line, the bus riding at a fast but steady pace as it passed the large trees that seemed to go on for miles on each side of the road. Out on each side of the road, the expanse of the forest went on, the evergreen possibly being endless.

But the one thing that made this path to the town take somewhat of a drastic turn of atmosphere...was the ever-growing fog.

The mist formed about a mile in, surrounding everything around them as it passes through trees. The fog was only a half foot deep, but it gave out a somewhat...dreary and lifeless feeling around the area. The only thing that gave it life were the signs that they passed by, telling them how close they were to the town.

The vehicle drives up the straight road, letting all the kids anticipate what awaits beyond the end of it.

The remainder of the route left the students to talk amongst themselves(Aizawa is reading a book) while the tour guide told them little facts about the town they were heading. Some kids, such as Izuku and Tsuyu and a little bit of Todoroki and Jirou, both made small talk every once in a while during the excursion to the town, while others were quiet...such as Ochako and Katsuki, since the latter didn't want to associate with 'office supplies'. The Gravity Quirk seemed to be okay with this, as she's busy looking out the window to gaze at the passing trees and the delicate fog that's rolling in.

Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, sat there next to Iida, both quiet with nothing to say...and that bothered her a bit.

' _Wow...Iida hasn't even rebuked anyone when they all started to talk through the tour.'_ Momo thought, a little worried as she glanced at Iida, who was looking out the window. ' _This is serious...he's really not himself, is he?'_ She frowned. ' _Okay Momo, this may be your only chance to help out the class representative on getting back to his normal self as much as you can…"_ She blinked at one problem though. ' _...But, I can't just outright ask him if he's okay since Midoriya already asked him that before. I would think that he'd get tired of people saying that to him at this point. Plus, it would be a really random question to ask…'_ Momo lowered her head to think of any topics she could bring up…

Perking her head up as she thought of one, she turned to Iida, "Um...those cherry blossoms were really nice, weren't they?"

' _It's simple, but it was the only thing I could think of.'_ Momo thought in embarrassment as she sweatdropped.

Iida seemed to snap out of his daze and turned his attention away from the window to glance at Yaoyorozu. "Oh, uh...y-yes. They were, um..." He looked away to stare straight ahead, almost if he was in another daze and was trying to think about something. "...They were very beautiful."

' _Okay, that's a start.'_ Yaoyorozu tried to keep the conversation going. "Yes, indeed. It's really nice of the neighboring town to donate them, as well as paving this road...although, this route really does bring down the expectation levels." She half-joked.

"Hmm...it certainly does." Iida said as he lowered his trance-induced gaze.

Yaoyorozu frowned at his sober reaction. "Um…" She kept going. "I...uh, wonder, do you think Chinmoku could be really abandoned?" She asked him. "I wouldn't think the town would be completely devoid of life."

"...Hm…I don't particularly know…" Iida trailed off from there.

Now the Creation user was getting concerned. "Iida? Are...are you alright?"

Iida snapped out of it and lifted his head to turn and look at Yaoyorozu. "Oh, uh…" His gaze then turned back to his lap. "...I'm...I'm sorry, I'm just...I...I just kind of want some time to think."

Frowning, Yaoyorozu decided to ask him the question. "Um...would you...like to talk about it?"

"...No, I...I'll be fine. Thank you, though." Iida was silent for a second, until he gave out a slight chuckle and a small smile. "Midoriya has been doing that a lot with me lately."

Yaoyorozu blinked. "Do what?"

"Consoling me...I appreciate his concern, but...it's something I have to deal with myself." Iida told her.

Momo looked at the class representative with pity. "Well...I can say surely that Midoriya really does care for everyone, especially for his friends. But, just know that I, including everyone else, do care for you too, Iida. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, you can certainly talk to all of us, me and Midoriya included, about anything."

Iida turned to Yaoyorozu with a grateful smile. "Thank you. I really do appreciate that." He turned to the window again. He then said with a somber smile, "It's funny...I think Midoriya would've been better for being class representative. I'm not really representing our class very well at the moment."

"Hey, you've been doing great so far." Yaoyorozu reassured him. "You've been reprimanding Mineta every time he does something...unethical." She frowned when mentioning the purple grape-headed pervert.

Chuckling at that, Iida said, "Thank you. I'm glad to hear I'm doing a bit of good."

Yaoyorozu nodded with a smile. "Well, as vice-representative, I can safely say that you're doing excellent."

Iida smiled at the compliment. They sat there for a moment, quiet surrounding them…

' _Hm...I suppose I can try to communicate with one of my classmates...it could get my mind off of the Hero Killer, just for a little bit…'_ Tenya frowned slightly. ' _...but I will avenge you, Tensei.'_

After a second of quiet resolve, he took a deep inhale and breathed out through his nose. He then decided to ask Yaoyorozu, "So, are you, um...excited for your internship?"

Momo looked at Iida with a small smile. "I, um…" She thought about that for a moment, until she just said, "I'm a little nervous…" Which is true, but at the same time, she chose _Uwabami_ of all Heroes. She has nothing against her, but she felt like she really did under-perform in her match...she couldn't possibly choose Heroes or Heroines that are at least middle-tier, let alone high-tier, and that last part was unlikely considering her performance.

Iida nodded. "It is a little scary...but I'm sure you'll do really well, Yaoyorozu."

' _I sure hope so…'_ Yaoyorozu erased the doubt in her mind and nodded back at him with a smile. "Thank you, Iida. What about you? Are you ready for your internship?"

"...I am, in a way." He said in determination, which one would think he's coming back to his old self again. However, in reality he's thinking of one and one thing only:

Going to Hosu City, finding the Hero Killer, and taking him down.

"Well, let's hope we all learn something from our interns...and maybe learn something while we're on this trip as well." Yaoyorozu commented.

Tenya nodded, humming in agreement. They were silent after that.

' _The Hero Killer is said to be in Hosu City...I_ will _find him.'_ Iida thought with resolution.

Meanwhile, with Shouto and Kyouka...

Shouto looked out the window in thought, while Jirou was leaning back in her seat, relaxed as she waited for when the real tour began.

Both of them were quiet for a good while…

Jirou glanced at Todoroki, who's been silent ever since the park's entrance. She thought maybe she could strike a conversation with him for a bit, depending that there's nothing to look out and view right now for herself...that, and she didn't want to fall asleep in the tour bus...and possibly snore...that would be embarrassing. And she wasn't really one for awkward silence. Besides, Todoroki seemed like a decent guy enough. Sure, he was serious at times, but he acts as normal as anyone can be.

...Plus, his two-toned hair-color is kind of cool.

Thinking of what to say, Jirou asked Todoroki, "So…"

Todoroki turned to look at Jirou. "Hm? What now?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. I mean..." Kyouka said, a little awkwardly. "I-I mean, I _was_ gonna say something, but…"

Todoroki looked at her and blinked.

Now Jirou couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She sighed and decided to go for it. "Hey, so, do you want to talk about something?"

Todoroki blinked a couple of more times at the question. "Uh...um, sure. What about?"

"Well...what's your favorite style of music?" Jirou asked with a shrug.

"Um...I like a little bit of classic rock."

"Really?" Jirou raised a brow in interest. "How classic?"

"How...classic?"

"Well, yeah. 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, heck, even 2000's?" Kyouka asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh...well...I like to look up old songs from the 70's...have you, uh...ever heard of _Queen_? It's a British rock band."

Jirou blinked at the recommendation, a little impressed. "Uh...yeah, I have. What song do you like from _Queen_?"

"Hmm...maybe... _I Want To Break Free_? It took me a while to understand what they were saying when I was learning English, but once I understood it, I liked it. It, uh...kind of speaks to me."

"Huh...that is one of their good songs." Jirou said with a small smile. "My favorite from _Queen_ has to be _Bohemian Rhapsody_ , of course."

"That's a good song." Todoroki nodded.

"Good? Heh, it's phenomenal to me." Jirou smirked. "So what other musical tastes do you like?"

"Um...well, I have an appreciation for another 70's band called _Journey_."

Now Jirou's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Um...yes?" Todoroki said, a little sheepish on her reaction.

"Wow…" Jirou chuckled. "No offense, but I thought you were more of a…" ' _Nah, I shouldn't say emo rock.'_ "...of a screamer heavy-metal type of guy."

"Really?" Todoroki looked a little flabbergasted. "I mean...I listen to some heavy metal every once in a while that doesn't rely on screaming out their vocal cords all the time. Honestly, I just prefer rock and metal that has a melodic harmony."

"Yeah, exactly!" Jirou gave out a small grin. "Hey, have you heard of Metallica? They're kind of heavy metal but they just rely on harmony and melody as well."

"That I have. They have some good songs." Todoroki nodded with a small smile.

The rocker girl returned the smile.

" _ **We are about three minutes to Chinmoku, folks!"**_ Said the tour guide. " _ **In the meantime, enjoy the natural beauty of Chinmoku's forest and the upcoming scenic and pristine lake on the right that the town surrounds."**_

Jirou and Todoroki all listened to the tour guide's words, with the latter saying, "This is an interesting route. I'm not complaining though. The way here looks and feels peaceful...it makes you think." He said as he looked out to his right at the windows, where everyone in the bus does the same.

"Hm…yeah." Jirou looks to her right and views the landscape and lake through the windows as well. "I have to say, this fog kind of adds to the serenity of this route."

Todoroki nodded with a hum. "Indeed it does."

As everyone looked out the windows, Uraraka and Bakugou both sat there, with the former mesmerized at the lake that was in view.

Ochako's eyes glimmered with awe as she gazed at the window of the sparkling waters of the lake. "Oooh...it's so beautiful."

"Tch." Bakugou scoffed as he crossed his arms. "What's so fuckin' magical about a lake?"

Uraraka turned to Bakugou and scowled at him slightly. "You know, Bakugou, you could at least appreciate the outdoors a little. And do you have to curse everytime?"

Bakugou glanced at Uraraka, glaring at her with a sneer and a growl. Ochako frowned and turned around with a 'hmph!' as she continued to look out the window. The explosive blonde's sneer and glare lessened, and went back to a hard look as he stared forward in front of him.

They sat there silent for a moment…

While Uraraka sat there looking out at the calm and peaceful lake, Bakugou was in thought.

' _Shit, this fucking trip is boring. And it hasn't even started yet! I would rather train, or hell, even do homework assignments than being here right now!'_ Bakugou thought with a scowl.

...He glanced at Uraraka, who was still looking out the window.

' _...Ah, fuck. I might as well talk to Round Face, just to pass the damn time...and just so I won't lose my fuckin' mind in the process.'_

"Hey." He said curtly.

Uraraka, who gave out a little jump in her seat, turned her head to Bakugou with blinking eyes. "Uh, yes?"

"..." Bakugou just sat there for a moment not saying anything…he blinked as well, looking a little dumbfounded.

' _...Ah, shit! I don't know what to start this fuckin' conversation with!'_ Katsuki thought in a slight panic...wait, no! He ain't panicking! Not even the _slightest_! No mother-fucking _damn_ way! He just...has to think real quickly what he has to say…

"Uh...yes?" Uraraka said in slight confusion.

' _...Oh, fuck. She's still waiting. Um...oh yeah, I can ask that! Tch, yeah, I've been wondering about that for a while...that's a good conversation starter.'_

"Uh, Bakugou?"

"So," He abruptly said. Once he thought of what to say, he frowned at his next words. "... _Deku_ said you thought that whole plan back at the Sports Festival all by yourself, huh?"

Ochako blinked at the question. "Uuuh...yes?"

Bakugou looked at her with a hard stare, as if he's trying to decipher what she meant.

Uraraka just looked on in confusion.

' _...Oh. She_ did _think up that whole strategy by herself...fuck. Now I have to admit Deku was_ right _...and there ain't no fucking way I'm doing that.'_ Bakugou then just decided to mumble, "...Not bad."

The Gravity Girl just looked on at him with surprised wide eyes. "...Eh?"

' _Ah, damn. Now she thinks I'm complimenting her and shit. Which I'm not! I'm just...fuckin' bored.'_ "Yeah, not bad...for a pair of _office supplies_." And with that, Bakugou just 'hmphed' as he leaned and slouched in his seat. ' _There. End of this fuckin' discussion.'_

Ochako just looked at the blonde, blinking at what he just said. Not knowing to feel insulted or even _almost_ flattered, she just stared at him incredulously. "Uh...thank you?"

"Tch!" Katsuki scoffed. "Don't get any ideas, I'm bored as shit right now, okay?"

Blinking for the last time, Uraraka frowned a little bit, but then smirked as she said, "Well, thank you Bakugou for showing me that I need to be a bit more assertive on the offensive!"

Bakugou looked at her sideways with narrowed eyes and said nothing to that.

Ochako smiled and turned her head to look out the window again.

Katsuki can only think of one thing.

' _...Hmph. Stupid Round Face.'_

" _ **Just a minute away, folks!"**_

Lastly, with Izuku and Tsuyu…

"Wow, nice lake." Tsuyu said as she looked out the window with Midoriya. "Too bad we can't boat or swim there right now."

"Yeah…" Midoriya seemed to think about that for a second. He turned away from the window and stood up to address himself. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Masahiro? May I ask a question about the town?"

" _ **That you may, young man."**_ The tour guide said through his intercom.

"Okay, um...has there really never been any people that had set foot upon the town we're about to go to throughout the years?"

" _ **Well, there has been the occasional restoration of the town throughout the years, but as for people**_ **living** _ **in Chinmoku, no one has ever truly lived there for over a century. The houses and apartments never even have been lived in, as those sections of the town are blocked off."**_

"Oh...wow. Okay…" Feeling like his question had been answered, Midoriya sat back down. "Man, having a town be devoid of life kind of sounds...well, creepy, to me."

"Well, for me, I think it's kind of depressing for a town to not be lived in for so long." Tsuyu said, but then looked a little thoughtful. "...I also think living in a ghost town would make anyone go mad."

Izuku nodded to that. "Yeah...I can see that."

" _ **And here we are! The town of Chinmoku!"**_

Once the tour guide said that, everybody held onto their breath as they anticipated what was about to be revealed to them…

As soon as they passed a lone ranch, the sign of the "Chinmoku City Limits" came up. Up ahead, there was a gas station, some shops, restaurants, clinics, banks, and other stores. These businesses all lined up on each side of the road…

And all of them...were empty.

Every single shop and business...was empty.

The roads...were empty.

The town...was just empty.

It looked like something out of a scene in a post-apocalyptic movie. There were no people walking around outside, no people coming in and out of stores, not even people driving their cars in the streets. There were, however, the aforementioned walkways that are being constructed and paved for the tourists to walk around, but even then they weren't being occupied.

It was...very odd and unsettling, to say the least.

" _ **Welcome to Chinmoku, everyone! We have entered the east side of the town, which this area is usually where the tourism activity would be present thanks to the lake that's beside Chinmoku. The route we are taking today will lead us to the 'new town', which the 'old town' section inside the city center will be our last tour before we exit the town. The 'new town' area will be where there was much more recent construction, as well as showing what life would be like not only one-hundred and thirty years back, but two-hundred years ago, before advanced technology and Quirks came into the picture."**_

"Oh wow. Before Quirks came into the picture?" Izuku repeated the tour guide as he looked around where they all are, glancing through the windows of the bus.

" _ **The lake that we passed is known as Toruka Lake, which was used as a recreational spot back in its day, such as boat rides, fishing, and water-skiing. Up ahead, we are nearing the towns' business district, where its economy focuses on the tourism here, such as the local shops, souvenir shops, and local eateries."**_

The tour bus still went straight as they passed more shops, cafes, and other businesses. The bus soon made a right turn as they entered another part of the town, which to their right, there was a local park present. It has a kids playground, a walking trail, and some cherry blossom trees that were shading certain benched areas in the park.

" _ **The area to our right, is one of Chinmoku's local parks, it being called 'Rosewater Park', on the count that there were multiflora roses here one time before the park's construction, and also it being near the lake."**_

As soon as the bus made another turn to the left, they were on a street full of two to three-story apartment complexes, each with their own businesses underneath them. They passed other residential areas each of them apartments, and some of them being smaller two-storied homes that have a postmodern architecture.

" _ **These are the typical residential neighborhoods in Chinmoku that people once lived in, which the population at the time was up to 14,000 residents. The city grew once its tourism began to flourish, this area being a spot for natural sights and wonders, such as the hills that surround the town. It is a known fact that Chinmoku was once going to be called 'Sairento Hiru' meaning 'Silent Hill', but the founder of this town thought Chinmoku, 'Silence', was a better term for it as the quiet in the area was so serene, that it held a sacred meaning to the term 'Silence is Golden'."**_

Soon they passed a four-storied hospital complex.

" _ **This is the Buruken Hospital, and is probably the oldest hospital in the town. Its construction was built around 1954, and it grew to be the largest health facility in Chinmoku. Other clinics are around the town as well, about twenty-four of them, whereas in the 'old town' section, there are but five infirmaries that are located around that area, making it a total, including the hospital, of thirty healthcare facilities."**_

"Whoa. Why so many infirmaries and clinics?" Jirou asked herself.

"Hmm...they were rather cautious with people's well-being around here." Shouto said out loud to himself.

" _ **While 'The Silent Massacre in the Hills' was of course the most tragic event that happened in this town, there were other tragedies that occured here before it. Tragedies such as plagues, all bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic, wrecked this area during the 1500's, which its founding was in 1489."**_

"Plagues?" Izuku muttered, his tone sounding surprised.

"Whoa, all three plague categories affected this town all the way back then? Man, they must have ticked some spirit off." Tsuyu muttered.

"Spirit?" Midoriya looked at her with blinking eyes. "You believe in that stuff, Tsu?"

"Well, not really. But I am kind of superstitious when it calls it. I mean, you can never be too careful. *ribbit* " Tsuyu explained.

Izuku smiled at that as he chuckled. "That's kind of cute, actually."

Tsuyu blinked. "...Cute? *ribbit*?"

Realizing how that sounded, Midoriya froze as his eyes widened and his cheeks turned red. "Uh, I-uh, I-I-I mean-!" He paused for a second. "...Well…" He looked sideways, feeling cornered. "...Yeah, it's...cute that...you know, you're kind of superstitious."

Tsuyu looked at him...and blushed a tiny bit. "Oh...uh, okay." Not knowing what to say after that, she looked forward in her seat and said nothing.

Midoriya did the same thing…

He never felt so stupid and awkward in his entire life.

' _...That was just an innocent comment...r-right? I-I haven't really...I mean, that wasn't a flirt, was it? I don't want to lead her on...wait, why am I thinking this!?'_

Izuku gulped, thankfully not audibly.

Meanwhile, the tour guide kept going with the tour.

" _ **There was also the boat collision in 1968 that crashed and sank two small lake cruisers, letting twenty-eight people drown in the lake. The total passengers in each cruiser held thirty occupants, which in total would've been sixty people, so only thirty-two of the passengers survived that day."**_

"Oh my goodness, that's awful." Ochako frowned as she put a hand to her mouth after hearing the info.

Bakugou said nothing as he frowned at that as well.

" _ **Another unfortunate event in the town was that in 1999, a cult terrified Chinmoku by slaying twenty-one innocent victims to appease their 'god'. They were not mentally well and the authorities soon apprehended all six of these perpetrators, putting them in a prison not too far from here to be executed. There were a bit more unfortunate events that happened here, but Chinmoku still thrived to be an enjoyable little resort town for all."**_

"Holey moley." Kaminari muttered as he winced at that tale. "This isn't starting to sound like a good vacation spot right now."

"Yeah Bro, tell me about it. This town sounds like it had some crazy stuff happen here." Kirishima muttered as well back to him.

"My word…" Momo said, blinking at the casualties.

Iida frowned at all the misfortunes that happened here and decided that he shouldn't listen to this anymore. He looked out the window to view some more buildings, each of them being apartment complexes, shops, banks, and restaurants.

As he watched the buildings pass him by, he wondered if anyone truly _lived here_ as of right now…

...It would be a perfect place to hide for someone like…

' _No. The reports say he's in Hosu City...but this place would still be a good hiding spot for someone like_ him _...'_

Iida scowled at the thought of what the Hero Killer had done to his brother, Tensei.

' _...I will not let you_ breathe _, Hero Killer.'_

As soon as he was about to look away from the window…

...He saw something move in a wide alleyway.

"Huh?" Tenya uttered as he looked back at the window quickly, only for the bus to pass the alleyway in a second.

Eyes widened in shock, Iida's mind went blank, mouth agape.

' _...Wait...wh-...'_

His mind now registering what he just saw, he was still looking out the window, as more buildings were passing him by.

' _...It...It couldn't…'_

His mind flashed a mental picture of what he saw in the news…

' _...What…what was...'_

. . . . . . .

' _...No..._ who _was that?'_

That image in the news...what he saw...looked like...

Him…

' _...It can't be.'_

He saw…

...The Hero Killer.

He...saw...the Hero Killer.

_Here._

"Iida?"

Tenya looked back at Yaoyorozu, who looked a bit concerned.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

Iida sat there…

Is he alright?

Did...what he saw...could it really be...him?

' _...I don't know.'_

"I…" Iida started out, but stopped.

Could he say it? That he saw the Hero Killer...here, in this abandoned town?

"...I'm just...tired." He told her.

"Oh...well…" Momo frowned sympathetically. "I think the tour will be over in just a little while. We're heading to the 'old town' portion of the tour, so try to hang a little longer, okay?"

"...Yes. Right." Iida nodded, still in thought of what he witnessed…

' _...Is the Hero Killer...in Chinmoku?'_

* * *

The Class of 1-A all looked on at the empty streets of Chinmoku once the tour bus went much further into the town. When they entered the old town, it looked like any other Japanese medieval era village, but with roads around the buildings. The tour guide shared with them more history of the town's past and its residents, all of them so far fairly decent information. To its economy and its natural beauty, they all listened to the guide as they viewed the town.

Once they came up to a four-storied apartment complex in another part of town, the bus slowed down to park at the side of it.

" _ **This location here...is where the individual known as Sariban Uoruta was born...and where he died."**_

All the students looked over at the apartment complex, quiet as they took the sight in.

This was the site that started the Quirk Laws in Japan...

The place oddly enough radiated a sense of...purpose and significance. The apartment complex on the outside looked to be just like any other ordinary building...yet they bet _one_ of those rooms...could tell a story. A story of pure infinite sadness and despair…

" _ **Uoruta was the future catalyst of the 'Silent Massacre in the Hills', the very same event which was after the year Quirks manifested in almost everyone, that drove the town of Chinmoku into its economic downfall. After his death, the town tried to pick itself back up after such a tragedy, but the news went around the country and soon parts around the world. As previously stated, there was an approximate total of 14,000 people who lived in Chinmoku at the time. However, ever since that day occurred in 2019, around 8,000 victims have perished in the town during the massacre, with 6,000 people recovering from their mental traumas from Uoruta's 'Hallucination' Quirk. Unfortunately though, the survivors tried to live normal lives after the event, but the scars still remain.**_ _ **In fact, the after-effects of Uoruta's Quirk were still in them, making over 3,400 of the victims commit suicide."**_

" _Whoa_...damn." Jirou muttered with shocked wide eyes. Even Todoroki had to blink.

Others expressed their shock and sympathy by murmurs. Even Aizawa was shaking his head in pity.

" _ **The remaining victims though, fortunately, prevailed strongly and survived. But nonetheless, they felt a disconnection to the town after that incident. So during the course of ten years, all of the residents, even the city officials of Chinmoku, left their homes and decided to move elsewhere."**_

"Wow…" Izuku mumbled with a frown. "That's...really sad and unfortunate." He looked out the window and gazed at the apartment complex, where Uoruta once lived and died.

' _I'm sorry you had to go through that, Uoruta…'_ Midoriya thought in compassion.

" _ **As for Uoruta, he was an unstable individual, his life being a tragic one. He was born in one of the rooms on the third floor, it being Room 302…"**_

Midoriya looked up at the third floor of the apartment to find the supposed room. Staring at it for a moment, he was in deep thought.

' _He's kind of like me in a way...it's almost scary...I wonder if he was ever actually cared for during his life?'_

He still looked at the building, contemplative on what it felt like for Uoruta to be so alone...what he felt like when he realized no one was there to help him when he was born...to have no one play with him in his childhood years...to not have a mother...or even a _father_.

...It made his heart ache.

Midoriya's frown became more dejected.

' _...This really has hit home.'_

The tour guide kept talking about Uoruta's life, but Izuku didn't register it. He looked down, too enthralled in his thoughts to even notice.

' _...At least I have a mom who cares…'_

. . . . . .

_**Izuku.** _

Midoriya looked up at the sound of the voice.

"Huh?" He uttered, surprised.

' _...Mom?'_

"Hm? You okay, Midoriya?" Asked Tsuyu next to him in their seats.

Izuku turned to the Frog Quirk girl. "Wha? Uh, I…" He shook his head to clear it for a second. "Did...did you say something?"

Tsuyu tilted her head as she looked at him a little oddly. "I was just asking if you're okay."

"No, I mean…" Izuku then paused.

' _...It...must be nothing.'_

"Um...n-nevermind. Sorry, was um...thinking about some stuff."

"Oh, okay. *ribbit*" Tsuyu nodded. "Just making sure." She leaned back against her seat that she was sitting and became quiet.

Midoriya smiled, thankful that she forgot that awkward moment they had…

' _Not that it was, or that we were! I mean...yeah, no, we weren't...we definitely weren't...having an awkward moment...yeah.'_

"What was it you were thinking about if you don't mind me asking?" Tsuyu asked, her tone curious as her head slightly turned to him.

"Oh! Just, you know...was thinking how Uoruta had to suffer through all of that." Midoriya told her.

Tsuyu hummed in agreement as she looked straight ahead. "Yeah...nobody should go through what he had to endure...even if he didn't have a Quirk, he shouldn't be treated like that, you know?"

Izuku turned to Tsuyu, surprise written all over his face.

"I mean, the guy is a human being...you don't treat other human beings that way. Heck, he wasn't even evil, he was just off...man, it's depressing just thinking about it." Tsuyu said with a frown.

The Quirk Inheritor just looked at her and felt...happy about what she just said. Well, not happy that she's depressed, just...happy to hear that someone _cared_. It made him feel like a heavy burden was completely lifted off of him…

It was a good feeling.

"...Yeah." Izuku muttered, his face neutral, but being in full agreement of what she said. He turned his attention at the window and looked out at the apartment complex.

They sat there in solemn silence as the tour guide finished up the sad story of Uoruta.

Meanwhile, Uraraka was feeling quite down as she was hearing the story of Uoruta's life from the guide.

" _ **...Either way, it would seem that Uoruta died not knowing he was causing the whole city to go crazy, which Riza said to have tried everything as peacefully as she could in her power to snap him out of his trance. However, she soon made the decision that for her to save all of the people in the town, she had to kill Uoruta. So while Uoruta was still, unknowingly as Riza stated, causing havoc onto the town, she grabbed a kitchen knife and with great hesitation, she plunged the knife into his back. She kept doing so until he couldn't breathe anymore…and that was the end of the massacre and of Uoruta."**_

"Oh man...this is just...this is just _so_ sad…" She murmured, her expression showing such sympathy for not only Uoruta, but to Riza as well.

She wondered what Bakugou thought about this…

Deciding to take a quick peek, she turned to the explosive blonde…

He had his arms crossed, as his posture was a little stiff. But what really got her curious, was that he was...frowning.

Which is normal, everyone was probably frowning at this story, but...the difference between his frown and everyone else's, was that his frown looked...annoyed? But why was that? Bakugou couldn't possibly be annoyed by what is being said, is he?

Sure, Uraraka thinks he's a little ill-tempered and maybe a little pompous, but she liked to think Bakugou has some form of heart somewhere…

But she noticed something else in his frown.

The annoyance was there, but it looked like there was a small pinch of...guilt in it?

She wasn't too sure, it was really quick.

Deciding that now is a good time to stop looking at him(that, and he began to growl in aggravation), she looked back at the building where Uoruta was born...as well as where he died.

A sad frown appeared on her face. ' _Poor Uoruta…'_ upon the tour bus moving to its next destination, she saw off the apartment and looked straight.

...She let her eyes look sideways at Bakugou, who still had his arms crossed with that same frown, except that his posture was now looking irritated.

' _...I wonder what's up with Bakugou?'_ Thought Uraraka curiously.

Little did Ochako know, Bakugou was having somewhat of a moral dilemma.

' _Don't fucking think about it...don't_ fucking _think about it. You are not at fault...besides, Deku is too much of a coward to do anything like that...it ain't gonna bite me back or_ anything _. It's not my fault...I mean, I didn't let him_ be _Quirkless, that bastard did it to himself...it's HIS fault...that is until he got a_ damn _stupid Quirk…'_ Bakugou grunted slightly. ' _But that punk Deku wouldn't go far as actually killing someone...especially not me...tch. He wouldn't even if he tried…_

 _...And I'm_ _ **not**_ _._ _ **Fucking. Guilty**_ …'

* * *

They soon passed some other businesses, such as more cafes and shops, recreational facilities, some inns, lastly, a nicer looking hotel that was also called 'The Lakeview Hotel'.

" _ **This hotel to our right is actually the original 'Lakeview Hotel', which is considered the most extravagant of Chinmoku's lodging. The hotel was built in 1980 to mirror the Colonial-Revival architecture that can be found in the USA, as the builder loved that type of architectural style. It became a great lodging destination for the wealthy as only people who could afford to book a room can stay there to enjoy the views of the hills that surround this town, and as well as the lake. The newer 'Lakeview Hotel' outside of Chinmoku is exactly made like the old one, except it is open to everyone who visits there. However, this hotel in the town was almost lost thanks to a fire that occured in 2004 thanks to faulty wiring in one of the rooms. It reopened up in 2008, and that was when the hotel directors made the decision to open the hotel to everyone who wishes to vacation in Chinmoku."**_

As soon as they passed the hotel, they were riding out of the town, signaling that the tour is coming to a close.

" _ **And we are now at the end of our tour! Thank you all for coming and viewing this historic town! We always pride ourselves to keep this town alive in its own way, so think of it as the town 'thanking' you in exchange for being here! I hope this tour lets you all learn the value of using your Quirks very wisely as well. Not each Quirk is the same, and the different the Quirk is, the more possible it can help people in the long run!"**_

Once the bus passed a pair of gates that opened up to let them outside, they all were approaching the shopping area, restaurants, the museum, and the amusement park.

" _ **On behalf of the whole park and the town of Chinmoku, we thank you for coming! Even though the town is gone, I'm certain it will never be forgotten! We hope you'll have fun with our amenities in the park and celebrate what a town is really about; the people! Until then, farewell!"**_

The tour bus door opened, letting all the Class 1-A students filed out of it. When Tsuyu got out of her seat and maneuvered into the line, Izuku made his way out right behind her. But as soon as he was about to enter the line, he saw Bakugou getting up, thus he stood there in place.

Bakugou made his forward down the line, passing Midoriya as he briefly glanced at him with a glare.

Izuku slightly winced.

As soon as Bakugou went by, Uraraka made her way forward down the line, which she glanced at Midoriya with a smile and waved. He smiled back and returned the gesture. When she passed him, he waited a bit for more of the students to go by.

Momo got up from her seat but glanced over at Iida, who still looked to be still seated and in thought.

"Iida? Um, the tour is over…" Momo told him with a concerned frown.

"Hm?" Iida hummed in question. "Oh...right." He stood up and made his way past Momo, silent throughout his way out and not once acknowledging anyone.

Yaoyorozu's frown deepened. ' _My word, this is as bad as I thought…'_ She looked over at Midoriya, who was letting everyone go past him. But when he saw Iida's pensive posture as he walked past him, he couldn't also help but frown as well.

The Creation Quirk user decided to approach Midoriya about this.

' _I heard that it was about Iida's brother...I hope when I ask him that, it doesn't sound like I was eavesdropping...actually, I don't think that matters. When a classmate is having problems, then another classmate should help...besides, Iida did say that Midoriya was consoling him...I need to speak with Midoriya somewhere private after we get back to our hotel."_

She nodded to that and made her way down the line. However, she stopped in front of Midoriya and said to him, "Um, Midoriya?"

"Huh?" He said, taken back by surprise.

"I need to talk to you about...Iida. He seems...distracted. It's almost like he's not himself."

Midoriya eyes widened. "Uh, w-well-"

"Not here though. I might want to speak to you in private. I only ask because he said you were consoling him. I might know what it could be about, but I need some input to make sure my suspicions are correct. Would it be okay if we speak about this when we get back to our hotel?"

Midoriya blinked. "Um...y-yeah, sure."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Thank you. As vice-representative, I feel like it's my job to at least help out everyone." She then looked to her left to see that everyone had exited the bus. "We should probably get going."

"Uh, r-right!" Midoriya nodded.

They both walked down the stairs out of the tour bus, and gathered around the group where Aizawa is telling them their next activity.

"Okay, we are now at the park's recreational grounds. We're gonna be eating dinner soon at a restaurant called Konami Diner that the agency told us about. It's said to be inexpensive, but the agency said it was good food all around. After that, you kids can do anything you want around here; whether it be checking out the shops, go to the museum or amusement park, or even going back to the hotel. Just remember to come back to the hotel around 20:45 or even 21:00 at the latest, so don't get lost around here, and _behave_ yourselves. Also, _don't wreck_ _anything_. I trust you all to use your judgement to come back to your rooms in one piece. So without further ado, I'm getting hungry, and I'm thinking you're all hungry as well, so let's get some chow." Aizawa told all his students.

As they followed their homeroom teacher to this Konami Diner, Midoriya glanced at Iida, whom the young man was taking rather...determined steps. His expression had a very firm frown as well.

Midoriya blinked. ' _Huh? What's up with Iida? He looks so...serious all of a sudden…'_

He wasn't the only one who noticed…

Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and even Todoroki started to notice the change in Iida's demeanor as well.

They all made their way to the restaurant…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what? I'mma gonna stop the chapter here. XP
> 
> But yeah, what do you all think so far? Trust me, in the next chapter, the selected students will go to the town. Why would they do that? Well...you'll see…and if you already figured out, then good for you! ;)
> 
> So how was it? Does it interest you now? I would love a comment, kudos, or a bookmark, so please tell me! 8D
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and until next time, keep on rocking everybody! :)
> 
> -TSP


	4. No Turning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iida is missing. Midoriya, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Jirou, and Todoroki look for him, while Bakugou tags along. They catch a ride to the town...but will they find him? ...Or is something waiting for them there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've changed the time when they're supposed to go back to the hotel, blah blah blah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Just know I changed some stuff in case you're confused over something that doesn't sound right. XP Also, an important announcement in the author's endnotes that involves me, my folks, and my home life! :D

Once they all had their dinner at Konami Diner(the food was really good), and each of them had paid their meals, they all met outside of the restaurant, with Aizawa leading the way.

"Okay," started Aizawa as he stopped and turned to face them, "From here on in, you can all do whatever you want in the park. Again, just be back at the hotel around 20:45 or until it reaches its closing time at 21:00 the very least. I trust you all don't go off with strangers and to _stay in_ the park. Don't go using your Quirks as well." Once he saw and heard all the kids comply with Aizawa's rules, he said, "Good. Well, with that said, I'll see you all at the hotel. Be careful now." He turned around to walk back the path to the hotel.

"Huh? W-Wait," Midoriya said suddenly, causing Aizawa to stop, "Y-You're gonna go back to the hotel? You're leaving us here?" He asked, flabbergasted.

"That's what I said. And believe it or not, I know you kids can handle yourselves. But seriously, I trust you all to not do anything stupid. Until then, that meal was good, and I wish to take a nice long rest." Aizawa said as he walked off to the hotel, leaving the students all by themselves.

"Wow. Okay." Jirou blinked. "Um...I guess we can do whatever we want?"

"Hey, sounds like a plan!" Kaminari said with a grin. "I might just go on the rides! Who's with me on that?"

"I'm game!" Ashido said with excitement.

"Yeah, I could go for some amusement!" Kirishima said with a smile in agreement.

"Hm...it would be exhilarating to try out some rides." Tokoyami said with a nod.

"Hey, I'm down with that!" Sato said with a grin. "What do you all say, guys? Who's up for it?"

Sero, Ojiro, and Shoji cheered.

"Well, I'd rather go out and explore the shops here. Especially the souvenir shops!" Aoyama said with a sparkle in his eye.

"Oh! That sounds fun! I want to join!" Hagakure said with glee.

"Hmm… *ribbit* Well, I'm thinking of wanting to go to the museum instead. I think Aizawa-Sensei said that the admission fee was cheap. Does anybody want to come?" Tsuyu suggested.

"Sure! I would like to know a little bit more about the town!" Uraraka concurred with a smile.

"Yeah, I would think that could be a nice time passer. Count me in." Todoroki said with a nod.

"I think it would be interesting. I'd like to join." Yaoyorozu spoke up with a small smile.

"Aw heck, why not? It actually could be interesting. I'm in." Jirou shrugged with a smirk.

"Yeah, I bet it could be fun! I'll join too." Midoriya smiled at that.

Bakugou snorted and walked away from the group.

Midoriya looked over at the explosive blonde, "Uh, Kaachan? Where are you going?"

"Back to the hotel, ya dumbass." Bakugou snarked.

"Aw hey, come on Bakugou. I bet there's something you want to do around here?" Kirishima asked him in a friendly tone.

"No fucking way. I'm tired and I want this trip to be over. I would rather train back at UA than hang out with you 'extras'." Bakugou remarked curtly. And with that, he kept walking back to the hotel.

The rest of Class 1-A looked at the leaving Bakugou with either having expressions of annoyance or pity on their faces.

Midoriya was one of those who just felt pity for him, as well as Uraraka.

"Well, _I_ would like to join your trip to the museum as well!" Mineta said to the museum group with a perverted and deceiving grin, thinking it would be a good opportunity to be with the girls.

However, almost as if reading his mind, Momo, Kyouka, and Tsuyu glared at Mineta while Uraraka looked at him with caution.

"Uh…" The short purple-balled haired sweatdropped.

Even Todoroki and Midoriya were doubtful and distrustful as they frowned at him.

"...Okay. You know what? I changed my mind. I rather just go on the rides." Mineta said with his hands raised in defense. ' _Well, at least Mina's there…'_

"We'll keep an eye on him." Sato assured the museum group.

Mina giggled. "Yeah, and I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid as well!"

"Aw, come on!" Whined Mineta.

"You're on your own on this one, pal." Kaminari said with a sheepish smile.

"TRAITOR!"

"Well then, it's settled." Midoriya said with a smile. "Let's have fun!"

Everyone cheered...except for Iida.

The museum group took notice of this, and Uraraka asked him, "Hey, Iida, would you like to go to the museum with us?"

Iida looked to have been in thought, as he snapped out of his trance. "Oh, um...n-no. Uh, no thank you. I-I'm thinking of just...getting some rest back at the hotel."

"Oh...okay." Uraraka said with a frown.

Midoriya also spoke up. "Are you sure, Iida? I mean, you don't want to be cooped up in our room all evening, do you?"

"Yeah." Yaoyorozu said with a nod. "You should try to enjoy this trip before we go off to our internships."

"Exactly." Midoriya agreed. "Come on, Iida, why not join us?"

" _No._ "

Everyone looked at the Speed Quirk user with surprise at his tone.

"I-...Iida?" Midoriya asked with concern.

"I mean…" Iida sighed. "...I'm sorry. I thank you all for offering, but it's just...I have something to clear up in my mind…" Before he can turn around to go, he said, "I...I hope you all have fun though."

And with that, he turned around to walk back to the hotel. As he was walking though, he seemed to pick up the pace as he began to walk a little faster.

"Um...is Iida okay?" Jirou asked, a little concerned.

"I...don't really know." Todoroki said, perplexed as he blinked. "I hope he is, though."

"Okay, um, does anybody know what's wrong with our class representative?" Mina said in an innocent tone.

"Yeah! He hasn't even reprimanded me lately when I do pervy stuff!" Mineta said. "...Which, uh, I'm not complaining...but still! Kind of weird."

"Yeah, dude has been mad depressed-looking ever since…" Kaminari perked up as he thought of what it could be. "Oh…dude, that's right."

Kirishima caught on. "Oh, hey, yeah...aw, dude, I totally forgot about that."

"What happened?" Sero asked.

"Yeah, something happened to Iida?" Mina asked also.

"It's about his brother. *ribbit*" Tsuyu told them.

"His brother? Ingenium?" Tokoyami asked.

"Oh! That's right! His brother was involved in a fight with the Hero Killer!" Aoyama said.

"The Hero Killer?" Jirou wondered.

"Yeah." Midoriya said with a nod. "His brother was severely hurt..." He frowned as he remembered the report of Iida's brother's condition. "Ingenium is said to be paralyzed now from the waist down and won't be able to walk again."

"Really?" Jirou said with wide eyes. "Whoa...man, that's...that's harsh."

Momo looked down in thought as she processed this info.

Uraraka frowned as she looked down, muttering in sympathy. "This is starting to get really bad here...poor Iida."

"Well, maybe he does need to clear his head for a bit." Midoriya suggested. "He could probably just need some space right now."

"...Still," Momo said, causing Midoriya to look at her. "Internships are coming up, and we'll be starting them around tomorrow evening. Even though it is understandable to feel depressed over one's sibling being severely harmed, he shouldn't let this weigh him down. He had nothing to do with his injury, and he shouldn't feel bad about it, it comes with the job of being a Hero. If anything, he should keep going for his brother's sake in his internship…" She sighed. "...I think it's settled. We need to do something for Iida."

"W-Well, I agree, but…" Midoriya rubbed the back of his head. "It's just that...I don't want us to keep pushing him on trying to make him feel better if it only annoys him further. I just don't want him to be even more distant towards us when we're only trying to help him."

"That I understand." Yaoyorozu said with a nod. "But he's our classmate, and we should all look out for each other."

"Yeah!" Uraraka nodded with a smile. "I would still help him no matter what he's going through!"

"Yeah." Jirou said with a nod also. "Iida may be a little too serious about his job as class representative at times, but he _is_ our friend. We got to help him out of this funk."

"I agree. *ribbit* We should try to get him back to his normal self at least." Tsuyu chimed in.

"Well then, I guess it is settled." Todoroki said. "Let's try to get him out of his room and try to get him outside to have some fun before our internship starts."

"Uh...w-well…" Midoriya thought about it for a second. ' _Could we really get Iida out of his depression?'_

Depression.

Midoriya frowned at that word.

' _...He...no, he doesn't deserve to be ignored. I can't let him go on like this. Especially with internships coming up. He should at least feel motivated to keep going on being a Hero...yeah. We_ do _need to help him.'_

"...You know what? You're right. All of you." Midoriya said in determination. "Iida has been suffering long enough. We got to do something to get him back in good spirits." He nodded. "I'm in."

Momo blinked once and couldn't help but smile.

' _Wow. Midoriya really_ is _a nice guy...he really seems to be loyal to his friends.'_ Yaoyorozu stated in her mind. ' _I wonder why I haven't communicated with him until now?'_

"Well, hey, we would like to help, but we don't want to overcrowd him with all of us encouraging him." Kirishima said.

"Oh, no worries!" Midoriya told them. "You guys just go on ahead and have fun. We'll try to get Iida over here as best as we can."

"Yeah! We, as the museum group, will get him back to normal, as best as we can!" Uraraka declared with a smile and a confirmation nod.

"Well, what are we doing standing around here for?" Jirou said in good humor. "Let's get over to the hotel and get him out of the dumps."

"Right!" The rest of the 'museum group' said in unison.

* * *

' _It's a good thing all of our rooms are on the first floor.'_ Midoriya thought as they went to his and Iida's room.

It took them exactly a four-minute walk, as they took a bridge that was over a man-made lake that took them across the hotel. Once they entered the hotel they all went to the room where Midoriya and Iida are staying.

When they stopped in front of the room, Midoriya took a deep breath, and got his card-key out.

"It's okay, Midoriya! We'll be out here if you need us!" Ochako said with a smile.

"Yeah. Just try to get Iida out of the room. *ribbit*" Tsuyu told him.

"Good luck, Midoriya." Momo said to him.

Todoroki nodded while Jirou gave Midoriya a thumbs up and smirk.

"Right…" Midoriya put in his card-key and unlocked his room door. "Um, Iida?" He went inside…

"Iida?" Izuku said inside the room, closing the door behind him.

...There was no answer.

"Hm?" He went further into the room…

...There wasn't anyone there. Not even a covered up sheeted body in his bed.

"...Iida?" Midoriya said, growing a little concerned.

He went and checked the bathroom to see he was in there.

He turned on the light...and no one was there.

Finding this very odd, but being rational, he went to check the beds one last time.

Iida's bed. Nothing.

Once he went to his own bed to check if he's there for whatever reason, he saw something on his bedside on the nightstand.

"Huh?" Midoriya uttered.

Looking down at it...was a note.

He picked it up and read it to himself.

...His eyes widened.

"...What?"

* * *

The group that was outside of Midoriya's and Iida's room were all quiet…

"...It sure is quiet in there…" Uraraka commented.

And then, Izuku opened the door frantically, startling the group.

"IIDA'S GONE!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"What!?" Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Yaoyorozu exclaimed in shock.

Todoroki and Jirou's eyes widened in equal shock.

"Gone?" Todoroki said in question. "What do you mean by 'gone'?"

"I-I mean he's not in the room! I-I mean, he's not here! I-I mean, he's not in the hotel! I-I mean, I think he isn't! I mean, I'm saying-" Midoriya was cut off by Momo.

"Midoriya, calm down. Are you saying he's not in the hotel at all?" Yaoyorozu asked him

"Hey, what's that in your hand?" Jirou said to the Quirk Inheritor.

Snapping out of his panic, he looked down at the note that was in his right hand. "Oh! W-Well, it's a letter! F-From Iida!"

"From Iida?" Uraraka said in worry. "What does it say?"

Izuku lifted up the piece of paper to his face and said what Iida wrote down.

_Midoriya, I'm going to the abandoned town known as Chinmoku. I think I saw HIM._

"Him? Who's him?" Tsuyu asked curiously.

"Wait, he's going to that empty town? Chinmoku?" Jirou asked incredulously.

"Midoriya, why would he go there? Who's this person he's talking about?" Todoroki asked.

"Everyone, let's let Midoriya finish what Iida's written on the note." Yaoyorozu told them.

"Does it say anything else, Midoriya?" Uraraka asked him.

"Uh, w-well...yeah." Midoriya continued where he left off from the note.

_I saw him. I actually saw him...and he will pay. He's in Chinmoku...the Hero Killer is in Chinmoku. Don't try to stop me. I NEED to do this. -Iida._

"The Hero Killer!?" Uraraka exclaimed in shock.

"Whoa, really?" Jirou said with wide eyes.

"Stain's in Chinmoku?" Todoroki blinked.

"Whoa, for real?" Asui asked with wide eyes.

"What? But...how? Wasn't he last seen in Hosu City?" Yaoyorozu asked in question.

"He was...but…" Midoriya shook his head. "I don't know what's gotten into him to make him think that he saw the Hero Killer, but we got to stop him!"

"How though?" Jirou asked. "He might be at Chinmoku right now even as we speak! He has like super speed, his legs are turbo engines, dude! And I also seriously doubt that he's in the right mind to not use his Quirk to get over there!"

"Should we tell someone working here about this?" Asui asked anyone.

"I think we should." Todoroki nodded.

"Wait, but won't that make Iida get in trouble?" Uraraka asked them. "I mean, if it's true that he'd used his Quirk illegally to get to Chinmoku, then that'll be another issue."

"Well, the tour guide did say that no one was allowed to set foot upon the town." Yaoyorozu reminded them. "Although, I don't know if that means if we're prohibited from entering it, but…"

Midoriya grunted in frustration. "I should've just kept reaching out to him! This is all my fault!"

"Midoriya, don't blame yourself for this!" Uraraka said with a frown. "You didn't know Iida was gonna do something this dramatic!"

"Yeah. This is totally not like Iida. You wouldn't know what was going on in his head." Asui said with an equal frown.

"I agree." Yaoyorozu said with a frown. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Midoriya. I should've known something was wrong with him too when I sat by him. He seemed...really preoccupied during half of the tour. In fact...he might've seen whoever it was he thought he saw out there during that time!"

"You think it _could_ be the Hero Killer?" Jirou asked, a little worried.

"No, it...I mean, I don't think so." Yaoyorozu looked unsure. "Actually, it would make sense that someone like the Hero Killer can hide in an abandoned town to escape authorities, but...it would take a rather long trip on foot to get from Hosu City to here in the span of one week."

"Well, we need to do something now." Todoroki reminded everyone. "Whatever Iida saw could just be a worker or someone from the park, and he'll be in big trouble either way if he's caught over there."

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Midoriya said hurriedly. "We gotta get goin-"

It was then another room door opened across from his and Iida's room abruptly.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M TRYING TO REST IN HERE!" Came the loud obnoxious yell of Bakugou.

All six teens jumped, a little startled as they turned their attention to Bakugou.

"Kaachan?" Midoriya said in surprise, his eyes blinking.

Bakugou growled. "What the fucking hell are all you idiots doing out here in the hallway anyway? What, you all got tired of this trip, too?"

Uraraka decided to speak up. "Bakugou! Iida is missing!"

The Explosion Quirk user turned his head to Uraraka. "Tch! Yeah, so what? Why is that my problem? Four Eyes is probably just doing some weird nerd shit."

"No, Kaachan, he's in Chinmoku! He's trying to find the Hero Killer, Stain!" Midoriya informed.

"The Hero Killer? The fuck are you on, Deku?" Bakugou said with a sneer, but seemed intrigued by what was said.

"Iida left a note in their room saying that he saw the Hero Killer during the tour, the same Villain who paralyzed his brother." Todoroki informed him.

"Huh?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow. "...Hmph. So that's why Four Eyes is mopey lately."

"Yeah! And he's trying to see if he can find him in Chinmoku!" Uraraka told him.

"The Hero Killer in Chinmoku, huh?" Bakugou seemed to think about that for a bit.

' _Shit. If that fucker Stain really is there, then I can probably get some recognition if I take him down…'_

Midoriya then also thought of something and said, "Wait, Bakugou, maybe you can help us! We all can try to band together to take out Stain if he's really there. It'll be seven, maybe even eight if we can find Iida, against one!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Bakugou scowled. "Fuck off, Deku! I don't take orders from you! And hell, even if that Stain bastard is in Chinmoku, you and all you extras won't be able to take him down!"

Jirou frowned. "Oh really? What makes you so certain you can take him down all by yourself?"

Bakugou growled at Jirou. "Maybe because I won the Sports Festival, Earjack!"

"Oh, so you won a _Festival_. Tch, whoop-dee-doo. What does that make you, All Might now?" Jirou said with sarcasm aa she glared at him.

"Hey, shut up, ya purple-haired bitch! At least I did better than you did!" Bakugou snarled.

"Oh, _excuse_ me! Not all of us have explosions coming out of their ass, chump!" Jirou sneered.

"Who are you calling _chump_ , you-"

"Guys!" Uraraka interrupted them. "This isn't getting us anywhere! We need to find Iida!"

"That's right." Todoroki nodded. "We need to find him and maybe see who this person is that he saw."

"But we don't even know who Iida saw out there." Jirou let everyone know. "For all we know, it could be just an ordinary drifter or a worker in the town."

"Well, either way, we can't just stand here and let Iida get into even more trouble. We got to go now!" Yaoyorozu said to them.

Tsuyu turned to the dark-green haired boy. "What do you think we should do, Midoriya?"

"Huh?" Midoriya blinked. "M-Me?"

"Hey, why are you all turning to Deku for answers!?" Bakugou growled. "We should get our asses out there and find Four Eyes and kick the Hero Killer's ass!"

"Oh, _now_ you want to join?" Jirou said with annoyed narrowed eyes.

"Shut up! I just don't want any of you extras as well as dumbass Deku here to get your asses embarrassed by the Hero Killer! It wouldn't also be good for my Hero record if I just let you all be killed by whomever! Tch, I also don't want that bastard Eraserhead to get onto me." Bakugou muttered the last bit.

"Oh gee. How selfless of you." Todoroki monotoned. Jirou snickered.

"Pfft! You better fuckin' believe it." Mumbled and growled Bakugou.

Yaoyorozu sighed exasperatedly and turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya, what do you think is the best option?"

"Hey! What the fuck did I just say!?" Bakugou yelled.

Everyone ignored him, which aggravated Bakugou more.

Midoriya blinked. "Uh...well, I just...think we should probably get going."

"Tch! That's what I said." Bakugou sneered.

"Not now, Bakugou!" Uraraka said with a frown.

Bakugou turned to Uraraka with glare and a scowl aimed at her, but was ignored when she looked over at Deku. It only frustrated him further.

"I mean...the more we stand here, the more Iida could be in bigger trouble. Maybe if we could find some workers here that might've seen him, we could have a lead. But we need to be discreet on not telling them that he went over to Chinmoku." Midoriya suggested.

"Then it's settled." Momo nodded. "We'll split up and ask anyone in the hotel if they saw Iida exiting the building anywhere."

"Then let's go and find Iida!" Ochako exclaimed, raising her fist in the air.

"Yeah!" They, excluding Bakugou, who only scoffed, all proclaimed with their fists in the air.

* * *

They all split up into pairs, each of them being Midoriya and Uraraka(they check the back of the first floor), Yaoyorozu and Todoroki(they checked the lobby), and Asui and Jirou(they check outside the front of the hotel). Bakugou wasn't paired up with anyone, much to his annoyance, so he decided to 'search for leads on Four Eyes better than all of them'. They all agreed to meet up in the lobby around fifteen minutes to see if they found out anything.

After asking some staff inside the hotel hallways on Iida's physical description, Midoriya and Uraraka have found a lead. They both met up with the others at the lobby around their designated time(even Bakugou was there, which was a surprise).

"Any luck?" Todoroki asked them.

"Nah-uh." Asui shook her head.

"No." Jirou said with a frown.

"Neither did we." Yaoyorozu said with a defeated frown.

"I think we got something!" Midoriya told them.

"Yeah! One of the chambermaids that was cleaning the rooms said that she saw a young man running in the hallways towards one of the back emergency exits!" Uraraka told them in a hurry.

"That has to be Iida!" Todoroki speculated.

"Tch, no shit." Bakugou mumbled.

Todoroki heard him and just glared at Bakugou, while Jirou calmed down the tension between them by saying. "Well, where do we go from here? We need assistance from someone, don't we? I mean, we can't drive or anything."

Midoriya frowned at that and thought hard on what they should do in this type of situation.

"Excuse me?" Said an older man's curious voice.

The teens turned to see that a man in his forties was walking over to them. The man was a little taller than the boys, and he has dark raven hair, glasses on, and is wearing a blue jumpsuit that has a nametag with the name ' _Hari'_ on it.

"Oh, um, yes?" Midoriya asked the man.

"I couldn't help but see through the security cameras that you're looking for someone, am I right?" The man named Hari asked.

"S-Security cameras?" Uraraka squeaked. "Y-You've been watching us?"

"Wait, are you like the guy who observes the cameras around here? *ribbit*" Tsuyu asked in curiosity.

Hari nodded with a smile. "That I am, young lady. And I can only figure that you're all looking for your friend?"

"Um...yes." Momo said, a little baffled. "Have you, uh...seen where our friend went to? Do you have any cameras situated in the hallways?"

"That we do." Hari said. "I think I saw someone leave the back entranceway. The outside cameras showed that a speeding bullet of a person, which I'm thinking is your friend, is heading towards the direction of Chinmoku."

The kids' eyes widened in shock.

"Uh, u-um, well, he, uh..." Uraraka tried to explain.

Hari frowned. "He really shouldn't go into town at this time, especially since the tour is closing in about twenty minutes."

"W-We're sorry, uh, Hari, is it?" Midoriya said and asked.

"That's what the name on my tag says, son." Hari said with a kind smile.

"Right. W-Well, either way, we're sorry about our friend, he isn't usually like this. He's more of a rule follower than anything, but...he saw someone on the tour and wanted to...well, see if what he saw was true, I guess."

Hari gave out another nod, looking like he knew what Midoriya was getting at. "Hmm...I see." He glanced down at his watch.

"Please, Mr. Hari, don't let our friend get in trouble! He's been depressed lately because his brother was hurt in a fight, and...well, that's all I can say!" Uraraka told the older man.

"Huh?" Hari looked up and expressed what looked like...shock? "Oh my…"

"Yeah. And he thinks the person who hurt his brother is in that town." Todoroki told him.

"..." Hari was silent for a moment as he looked to be thinking.

Bakugou grunted. "Look, we don't have time for you to think about shit, are you gonna help us or not!?"

"Bakugou!" Todoroki said in frustration.

"Look, the more we stand here doing jackshit, the more Four Eyes is probably getting his ass kicked by the-" Bakugou hesitated. "...By the bastard who did his brother in, okay!?"

Jirou looked at Bakugou with a raised eyebrow at his choice of words.

Midoriya, who was quite pleasantly surprised by Bakugou's concern and his effort to hide Iida's and Stain's identity, agreed. "Um, yeah." He turned to Hari. "Please, Mr. Hari, we need to have access to the town! We don't want him to get into any more trouble, and we think we can get him to listen to us if we tried-"

"Follow me." Hari said to them as he turned to walk away from them.

All of the teens blinked at the sudden and abrupt halt in Midoriya's explanation as they stood there.

"Um...what?" Momo asked, making sure she heard that right.

Hari stopped and turned around with a neutral but somewhat knowing expression. "I said 'Follow me'. I can probably give you kids a ride to Chinmoku."

Eyes widened at that, the teens glanced at each other to know what they were thinking of that offer. Jirou, Momo, Uraraka, and Tsuyu all looked a little cautious, while Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya looked unsure.

"Hey, don't worry. I just feel like I should help you kids out. Besides, I don't have anything on me besides my Quirk, which is just pencil fingers. See?" He raised his hand to show his fingers, which they are exactly like pencils instead of fingers. "Not very threatening, but it made me a good writer and artist. Also, you kids are from UA, right? You must have really good Quirks that can probably overwhelm someone like me."

"Um...okay." Midoriya, still a little hesitant. "But, uh...where exactly were you going to take us?"

"To one of the vans that belong to the park. I know another way to Chinmoku, and it's near the road where the park's left gated entrance is."

"Oh…" Midoriya felt like this was too good to be true...and that's why he was a little cautious about this.

Bakugou was apparently thinking the same thing. "Wait a minute, what's the catch? You can't be giving us a ride to town for nothin'." He said with a glare.

Hari, on the other hand, shook his head and sighed, saying, "Look, you don't _have_ to follow me, but I think it would be a bit harder to get through without any security stopping you kids. Besides, it could be the only way into the town that doesn't involve official access."

The kids all looked at each other, wondering if this was a good idea to do this.

"You might need to hurry. The tour portion of this park will officially close at 19:00, and it's 18:43 right now." Hari told them.

Looking at the time on their phones, they decided that they really had no choice. Seeing that the man looked to be harmless enough, and seeing there's no other option, they all decided to follow him.

"Okay. Lead the way." Midoriya said with a nod.

* * *

Like Hari said, he led them to one of the park's company vans, which seated all seven of the kids and him in it. Bakugou sat in the front seat, just so he would keep an eye on the old man just in case he does anything suspicious. From the right of the van, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Yaoyorozu sat in the middle, while Jirou, Todoroki, and Asui sat in the back. Hari was in the driver's seat, driving them to the town-sized memorial park.

As soon as they neared the road lined with cherry blossoms, the van took a left off the path and into an almost nonexistent road where it looked like there were tire tracks on it.

"Oh…" Midoriya said when he looked outside the window to his left. "So...we're not using the road?"

"Nope. That we aren't." Hari said, shaking his head. "I'm using a shortcut to go to a gravel road that was once made by the people of Chinmoku that funded a camp over at the forest away from its town limits. I actually prefer going off this beaten path than just using the standard park road."

"A camp?" Uraraka asked in question.

"Mm-hmm. The camp is near the ranch that you all probably saw on the tour." Hari told them.

The kids were quiet after that.

As soon as the van went up a gravel road and entered the forest, it apparently was starting to bob up and down a bit when they were riding on the grass. The teens moved around in the van, almost hitting each other's sides thanks to the rough ride. It made the ride a little uncomfortable and awkward since the two other boys in the back and middle seats are in between the two girls, which made both boys a little nervous.

Todoroki tried to stay as stiff as he could when being in-between Jirou and Asui, which Jirou was trying not to blush even a tiny bit for being close to a boy. Asui was actually holding on to the grapple handles so she could keep herself balanced.

Midoriya, though, was just a nervous wreck, his face flushed at being in close quarters with the other girls. They were sitting next to him on each side, which Uraraka was blushing a tad as well as she sat close to Midoriya. Yaoyorozu was also trying hard to not think about the close proximity of a boy sitting next to her(although she did have a tiny blush on her face) and keeping herself balanced while holding onto the grapple handle as well...but thanks to the bumpy ride, the Creation Quirk user's... _chest_ was bouncing a little bit...and it was right in Midoriya's right peripheral vision.

As said before, Midoriya was an absolute nervous wreck.

The van went through the forest for about three minutes, and right then and there they could see a little bit of the fog that they saw on the way here rolling in.

If you told Midoriya's mother that right now her son is riding in a van into the woods with a complete stranger, then she would either faint or have a heart attack. She might even do both. Midoriya doesn't really know why he and everyone else agreed to do this, but they were desperate to find Iida. Also, Hari looked honest enough, and he looks to be taking them to the town so far...albeit from a different way.

Either way, he was right on one thing; the teens have strong Quirks and they'll use them on him if he tries anything.

Momo then spoke up. "Um...thank you, Mr. Hari, for, uh...giving us a ride to the town."

Hari glanced back at the girl and smiled. "Oh no problem! I don't know what waits for you all over there, but please be careful when you get to the town, okay?"

Bakugou stares at Hari and narrows his eyes in suspicion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I don't know what's waiting for you kids that made your friend go to Chinmoku in the first place, but I'm just saying it as a safety precaution." Hari explained.

"...Hmph." Bakugou said nothing to that, but kept his stare at him.

Midoriya, however, thought about that.

' _What's waiting for us...I really hope it's not the Hero Killer.'_ He pondered.

As the van went further into the woods, the fog was growing immense…

* * *

About five minutes have passed, and they've reached what looked like the remains of a campground. It was still daytime, but was soon going to be sundown.

"Alright...here we are." Hari announced as he stopped the vehicle.

The teens looked around their surroundings once they stopped.

"Um…" Asui frowned. "We're stopping here?"

"Yeah, what gives?" Jirou asked, a little wary.

Todoroki, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu felt tense as they weren't expecting to stop a little ways out of the town.

Bakugou also didn't like that they stopped as well. "Hey, why the hell did we stop?" He asked harshly with a glare.

Hari just sat there silently, not answering anyone's questions. It seemed his facial expression showed some form of...inner conflict.

"Hey! Old man! We stopped! Why is that?" Bakugou growled impatiently.

"...Sorry. I can only go this far. You'll all have to walk over there." Hari told them, his voice becoming a little monotone, yet there was a little guilt in his tone.

Bakugou, Midoriya, and the others all blinked at the man's words, all of them looking confused.

"What?" Jirou said. "We have to _walk_ there?"

"Uh, why? *ribbit*" Tsuyu asked him.

"Mr. Hari? What's...What's going on?" Uraraka asked, a little fearful.

Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Midoriya all sat there a little silent, having a somewhat bad feeling about all of this.

Hari sat there quietly for a second, until he said, "I can't really go further beyond this point. I want to respect the people who died in the town as best as I can…"

"Oh…" Momo looked a little puzzled though. "Wait, then...should we go on further too, or...I mean, is that really a rule? We have to get our friend back to the hotel, so we really do need to get over there as fast-"

"Then please...exit the vehicle and go find your friend. Before it's too late." Hari said abruptly, the words a little soft but firm.

Momo blinked at the command, as did most of the kids.

Bakugou raised a brow. "Why are you fucking cryptic all of sudden?"

Hari sighed. "...Seriously, all of you kids...get out and find your friend. Or I'll turn this van around and drive us back to the hotel."

Everyone's eyes widened at that claim.

"Um…" Todoroki was kind of at a loss of words from that.

"The fuck? Are you threatening us?" Bakugou asked in irritation, a little offended as he looked like he was getting ready to let loose on the man.

"Kaachan, wait!" Midoriya called out to him. Before Bakugou could tell him to 'piss off', Midoriya asked Hari. "Mr. Hari, what's going on? Why can't you go any further?"

Hari turned his head to Izuku, his face having a frown on it. "...Your friend isn't going to last long if he's filled with anger and rage for that person he's trying to look for."

"Huh?" Midoriya's eyes widened, perplexed by his sentence.

Hari unlocked the van doors. He opened his driver seat door and exited out of the vehicle. He then walked over to the left side door and opened it, exposing the kids to the forest campground outside.

Still confused beyond recognition but also getting a little scared, Midoriya asked Hari, "Mr. Hari...do you...do you happen to know what's going on?"

Hari stood there, shaking his head. "Honestly son, I don't. But all I know is, is that all of you kids want to do at this moment is to save your friend by whatever it is out there. So if you're serious about that, then I suggest you all get out of the van. All I ask is that you all be careful out there."

Everyone in the van looked at each other, expressing unsureness and confusion about all of this. That is until Bakugou scoffed and opened his passenger seat door, getting out of the van and closing it harshly.

"Fuckin' _fine_!" Bakugou yelled. "If you won't drive us to the town, then I'll fuckin' _walk_ there myself! But when you offer someone to ride with you somewhere, the least you could do is _take us there_!" He spat on the ground and stomped his way in the campground.

"Kaachan!" Midoriya called out. He turned to Momo, "We got to catch up to him!"

"Uh...okay." Momo said, still a little in shock at what's going on. She unbuckled her seatbelt, as did Midoriya, and soon Uraraka. Asui, Todoroki, and Jirou soon unbuckled their seatbelts as well, all of them getting out of the van.

Once they got out, Midoriya rushed over to Bakugou. "Kaachan!"

The rest of the kids followed Midoriya as they ran through the campground to get to the explosive blonde.

While they ran, unbeknownst to them, the fog was getting stronger…

Left behind them was Hari, who looked on at the kids with a somewhat stoic expression…

"...Be _very_ careful, kids…" Hari muttered to them, even though he knew they couldn't hear him. He went around to his driver's side and went into the driver's seat. Before he inserts the key and cranks up the car, he takes one last look through his windshield at the kids running up to the loudmouth boy and into the fog.

"...I can only hope those kids will return safe and sound..." Hari said to himself.

...He sighed and cranked up the van. Turning the vehicle around, he made his way back to the path he came in and rode his way out of the forest.

Soon, in around eight more minutes or so on foot, those teens will take their literal first step onto the town…

Once they do... _there's_ _ **no turning back.**_

...The hills...will be very _silent_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Just a short chapter to let you all be excited! ;) And also, an announcement!
> 
> My family and I are moving sometime in the future! Not only to a new city but to a new state! My dad has a new job and it'll be in Houston, Texas! :) Either way, this is big news for me, and my folks are looking for a house there. We'll probably be moving around the end of July! :D Also, I'm planning on starting my online university classes around the end of August, which will be my birthday! How about that? 8D
> 
> Until then, let's all hope this crappy COVID-19 will go away, so we can all have our lives back and whatnot. D:
> 
> But yeah, tell me what you think of this chapter! I know not much has happened, but I plan to make chapter five the one where they all enter Silent Hi- I mean, Chinmoku! ^^;
> 
> Either way, things will get crazy from here on in, just you wait! ...Which you'll have to, sadly. XP
> 
> But again, tell me how it is in a review! Or fave and follow it if you want! :D By the way, when you hear the name Hari, who does that remind you of? X)
> 
> Until then, thank you all for reading and keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP


	5. The Chosen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids finally entered the town...only to feel something foreboding about it...

"Kaachan!" Midoriya came up to him, along with the other kids. "Hold on! We just need to-"

"Oh, fuck off, already!" Kaachan snarled as he turned harshly around to face him and the others. "I'm pissed off and I don't want to hear from any of you _fuckin'_ _extras_ , including _you_ , _**Deku**_ , about how we should give that old bastard a chance to hear his own damn side of the story!"

Midoriya winced and said, "Well, no, Kaachan, w-we were just all thinking of maybe taking Mr. Hari's advice."

"Wait, we are?" Asui asked incredulously. The others also seemed to look at Midoriya in surprise.

"Wait a minute, you mean...we _are_ walking there?" Uraraka said, bewildered.

"Whoa, Green, I didn't agree to that." Jirou said.

"Well, I said _maybe_." Midoriya sheepishly said.

Yaoyorozu heard the sound of tires on gravel from behind her and she looked back to see that the van had its lights on and was turning around, driving back to the way it came.

"Hey, he's leaving!" Momo exclaimed.

Todoroki turned to see as well that the van was leaving them. "What?" He said in shock. "He's actually leaving us here?"

Bakugou snorted in disdain. "Fuckin' typical."

Midoriya blinked at the vehicle that was leaving their sight through the fog...which he noticed was getting a little heavy.

"Um...well, I...I guess we _are_ walking from here on in." The green-haired teen said, a little baffled.

"Seriously?" Jirou gazed as she blinked as well at the van fading into the fog with a perplexed look of disbelief. "Wow...man, that was...that was really uncool of the guy to do that to us ."

Uraraka frowned in confusion, disheartened at Hari's leaving. "Why would he do that? He acted like he was a nice enough man." She then looked around the campground that all seven of them were in, the fog surrounding them all as well as the area. It was almost going to be sundown in another hour, the day getting gradually darker, with the sun already hiding behind the clouds on this cloudy day. She grew a little uneasy at the setting and on the thought of trekking through here to the town at this time.

Asui looked around their foggy surroundings as well and stated what was partially on their minds. "Man, this fog is not letting up. Seems kind of a jerk thing to do for Mr. Hari to just up and leave us here in this campground in the forest, especially while there's a fog rolling in."

"Well, either way, we can't catch up to him now." Todoroki said, a little disappointed.

"Tch! Who gives a shit? Let's just get over to the town already." Bakugou grunted as he walked forward to the rest of the campground in the fog.

Momo frowned and muttered to the rest of them. "As much as I hate to agree with Bakugou, he is right. There's nothing we can do now but just move forward and find Iida."

"Yeah…" Izuku said as his eyes wandered over to the leaving figure of Bakugou. "Well, we should probably g-go where Kaachan is going. Mr. Hari was going straight, so I think if we j-just go in that direction, we'll reach the town."

"Well, we should head forward then, before it gets dark." Jirou suggested.

Agreeing to that, they walked on ahead to catch up to Bakugou.

As they were walking through the campground, the teens observed the dilapidated buildings and vacant areas of the camp while they passed each of them by. The cabins had vines growing around the walls, the firepit was empty and devoid of any life, and the walls of the lodge and the mess hall looked rotted, the roofs of some of the buildings looking to have been collapsed. Everything was eerily abandoned, just like the town they toured.

Soon they exited the premises, going off into the woods. No one talked as they walked, their destination being clear on finding and helping their friend.

However, they noticed something a little off-putting as they ventured forward...

...Everything was silent.

The sounds of their footsteps were the only thing present as they kept walking through the forest. Leaves and twigs crunched underneath them as they kept going...

...It was all too quiet.

Uraraka, who was walking alongside Midoriya, felt a little anxious at the silence surrounding them. She stopped in her walk to say, "This seems...really strange."

"Huh?" Midoriya stopped to look over at Uraraka. "What do you mean?"

Everyone paused in their walk, including Bakugou, to hear what Uraraka had to say.

"Well...doesn't this whole forest feel...empty to you all?" The Gravity Quirk girl asked them.

Todoroki looked around the woods, which they were all still encased in fog. "Hmm...these woods do feel like they should at least have some wildlife here, don't they?"

"Huh…" Jirou muttered, taking glances every once in a while. "...This fog doesn't really help the atmosphere much at all, either."

Asui took a pause to look around and said, "I think we shouldn't worry too much. If it's quiet out here, then that means the animals could be sleeping somewhere." She fished out her phone and looked at the time. "...Hm. Although it is 19:00 on the dot. *ribbit* The sun should be setting in another hour, so…" She looked up from her phone in query as she blinked. "...*ribbit?* Actually...and this is _not_ part of my Quirk or anything, so don't make a joke when I say this, but...I don't hear any insects here. Like at all."

Yaoyorozu blinked as she processed that bit of information. She was silent for a moment so she can try to hear anything that resembles any life besides theirs. The others(again, including Bakugou), followed her lead as they tried to listen to anything that could make a sound...

...Nothing.

They really didn't notice this until now. Letting this sink in, the kids start to grow a little alert. If what their studies at UA told them, they all have to trust their gut when they feel something is amiss.

"...This whole area _does_ sound a little too quiet..." Yaoyorozu said in caution.

Midoriya looked up to see the sky. "...Huh...y-you know, has anyone seen or heard any birds fly past here...lately?" Midoriya asked them, being quite serious.

The remaining five kids all looked up at the sky as well to see if there's anything flying above them…

. . . . . .

"...Okay, this is getting a little spooky. *ribbit*" Tsuyu said, a little uncomfortable.

Shouto frowned. "Hm...although this is kind of bizarre, we shouldn't let this bother us too much. We're heroes-in-training, and believe it or not, we've faced a lot worse earlier on in our first school year."

Lowering their heads away from the sky, they all nodded to that, remembering the USJ incident. Some remember that event with a little indifference, not wanting to remind themselves that they almost got themselves into a pretty bad spot and had a taste of what being a Hero really was like.

"Yeah." Jirou agreed. "I mean, sure it's...freaky silent out here, but I guess this town is called 'Silence' for a reason, right? Heh..." She joked weakly.

Midoriya looked around the foggy woods once more, trying to decipher anything out of the ordinary. If he's ever gonna be a Hero, then he has to completely be observant to everything in his surroundings, even if something doesn't feel or look right. However, everything was blanketed by a thick fog, making it hard for him to take note of anything.

Bakugou, on the other hand, just got tired of standing around listening to nothing and grunted. "Are you all fuckin' done?! We're wasting our damn time here just standing around doing nothing but listen to fucking air. So stop being bunch of cowards and let's get our asses over to this damn stupid town, okay!?"

Midoriya glanced at Bakugou for a moment and looked like he was about to say something, when Uraraka beat him to it.

"Bakugou, you have to at least think that this is kind of weird. I mean, we can't hear anything in these woods besides our voices and the footsteps that we make." Uraraka said with a frown.

"Tch!" Bakugou scoffed and turned around to walk ahead. "Well, maybe if you keep fuckin' walking, we can get out of this shitty and 'scary' forest that you're so weirded out about, Round Face. Now stop bitchin' and keep moving!"

Uraraka's frown deepened. "I wasn't complaining, I was just being alert! And I'm not scared, Bakugou!"

But Bakugou just ignored her and kept walking…

Ochako scowled, making a noise of irritation.

"Um...why did we let him come again?" Momo asked anyone.

"I think he basically just invited himself. *ribbit*" Tsuyu said with an unimpressed frown.

Izuku sighed. "Well, we should probably move forward. We don't want to get lost in this fog."

"Yeah…" Shouto simply agreed, as well as everyone else.

And soon everyone moved forward, trekking through the forest and on their way to town.

A town named _Silence._

* * *

They've been trudging through the forest for about five minutes, and they were about to get a little tired from all the walking they were doing.

"Man, I hope we get there soon." Jirou mumbled as she kept on going. "The way here feels a lot longer on foot."

"Yeah. You'd think Mr. Hari would've just dropped us near the town limits or something." Tsuyu commented, her legs almost feeling exhausted.

Momo, Ochako, Shouto, Izuku, and even Katsuki's legs were now feeling slightly weary from their hike to the town. Momo was definitely not dressed for the occasion, while Ochako was just trying to keep pushing on for Iida. Izuku and Shouto didn't complain, but they were getting a little worn out from walking so much. Katsuki though was getting a little impatient, grumbling as he kept going along.

Izuku may be getting tired, but he has to go help Iida. In fact, that's what's on everyone's priority right now…

Well...not everyone.

Katsuki just kept going ahead of them as he roamed through the fog, grumbling out profanity as he went on.

"Dammit, when is this fucking town gonna show up?" He mumbled. "That bastard Hari just dropped us here and now we're wandering in a shitty forest in a shitty fog, while I'm with these stupid extras trying to find Four Eyes...I just want to find the Hero Killer and kick his ass. I already won the festival, so if I take down Stain, then I'll really get recognized as a potential Pro-Hero. And I ain't gonna let _no one_ outstage me. So those fuckers better get out of my way, if they know what's good for them, or-"

"Uh, Kaachan?"

Katsuki growled and turned harshly at Izuku. "What!? What the fuck is it, Deku!?"

Izuku shrinked a bit and said, "Uh...y-you do know that you're about to walk into a w-well, right?"

Bakugou arched an eyebrow and turned forward to look at what he meant.

There was indeed, in fact, a lone well situated in front of them. And Bakugou was about three feet away from it.

"...Tch. Yeah I know that, dumbass. I was just seeing what was inside of it." Bakugou said to cover himself.

"What, you were gonna check it by falling in? We won't stop ya if you are." Jirou said in a deadpan voice.

Shouto cracked a smile at that joke. "Good one."

Jirou smirked back. "Thanks."

Bakugou was not amused, however. "Fuck off!"

As soon as Momo and Ochako caught up, the former said, "Wait, a well? Then that must mean-"

"-That we're basically entering the town!" Finished the latter excitedly. "We're getting closer to Chinmoku!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's keep moving and find Iida!" Tsuyu proclaimed. Soon all four girls and Shouto rushed on forward, except for Izuku, who was about to dash with them, until he glanced back at Katsuki.

The blonde was standing in front of the well, looking inside of it quite intently.

"Huh? Kaachan?" Izuku said to him.

But Katsuki ignored him as he kept looking down. He looked...somewhat intrigued at what's inside the well.

Blinking at this kind of behavior, Midoriya approached him. "Uh, Kaachan? Um, we have to go."

"...It's deep." Bakugou muttered to himself.

Izuku blinked again. "What?"

That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" He looked at Midoriya for a second and scowled. "Nothing, ya fucking nerd! I was just inspecting the well like I said!" He glanced at the others fading into the fog. "Huh!? The fuck!? Those 'office supplies' are going on ahead!?" Katsuki growled loudly, and turned to Izuku. "Thanks a lot, Deku, ya fucking piece of shit! Now I got to catch up to them!" He ran around the well and followed after them.

Midoriya, dumbfounded, just watched him go. Frowning at that weird occurrence, he decided to catch up to the others…

...But what was Kaachan staring down at?

Izuku decided to take a quick look to see what enthralled Bakugou about the well.

He went by the well and stood by the rim, looking down at it.

...There was nothing…

...It was pitch black...

"Huh?" Midoriya uttered, wondering why this captivated Bakugou so much.

It actually looked...creepy. It was just a well with no bottom floor, just...pitch black darkness. It was practically bottomless...

"...It _is_ deep." Said Izuku.

"Deku!? Where are you!?" Yelled out Uraraka.

"Oh! The others! Iida! R-Right!" Midoriya said to himself. He yelled back. "Sorry! I-I'm coming!" He then ran past the well to catch up to the other kids.

...The well stood there...alone.

* * *

As soon as they were out of the woods and onto a gravel road, they could make out the ranch that they'd passed by during the tour through the fog.

Ochako cheered. "Alright! We're almost there!"

"Uraraka, I think it would be wise for us to stay quiet when we reach the town." Momo urged. "If what Iida really saw was the Hero Killer, then we can't let him know that we're here."

"Oh! Right. Uh, sorry." Uraraka said a little sheepishly.

"Well, I'll say this, but I think we should take a breather as of right now." Shouto advised as he looked around the area. "From here on in, this ranch is our starting point to entering Chinmoku."

"Yeah." Agreed Midoriya. "And I-I think the ranch is next to the main road as well. W-We should probably take that route after we rest for a bit."

"I can get behind that." Tsuyu said. "Although, I wish there was some sort of transportation to get us there faster."

"Tch, whatever." Bakugou muttered as he made his way to his right.

"Hey, where are _you_ going?" Jirou asked the explosive blonde with confusion.

"What does it look like, Earjack? I'm going to the main road to enter the town. I ain't walking through the damn forest again to go to some fucking random area while we can just use a clear path to go on." said Bakugou as he walked to the direction of where the main road is.

"Wait, Kaachan," Called out Izuku. "Just let us get our bearings here for a secon-"

"Fuck off, Deku!" Bakugou harshly exclaimed as he turned around. "I don't want to waste anymore damn time just to wait for you extras to rest for a bit! I'm going to go find the Hero Killer and kick his ass, so you all better not be in my way!"

Shouto frowned. "In case you've forgotten, we're trying to save Iida too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed, whatever." Bakugou said in a flippant manner as he turned back around to keep walking, his whole body becoming just a silhouette in the fog.

Jirou scowled at Bakugou as he left. "You know, I get the feeling he's only coming with us just so he can fight Stain."

"I wouldn't be too surprised if that's the case." Tsuyu said with a nod.

Midoriya frowned in pity as he looked on ahead at Bakugou. "Don't worry, he won't let Iida get hurt. If there's one thing I know about Kaachan, it's that he's serious about being a Hero."

The remaining kids glanced at Izuku, curious at his confidence in Katsuki, but each of them not saying anything.

Ochako, however, turned her attention to glance back at Katsuki's silhouette as he disappeared in the fog.

' _Well…'_ Ochako thought with a more softer frown. ' _If he's serious about being a hero, he needs to work on his character.'_

Izuku then took a heavy sigh. "Well, we should probably go and follow him. Kaachan is not known to think up tactics when in fights."

"You know, I can actually believe that." Shouto dryly said, earning a chuckle from Kyouka.

And with that, they all rushed over to the direction where Katsuki went.

* * *

When they caught up with Bakugou on the main road, they were all silent as they kept walking up the strip. They've officially entered Chinmoku when they saw the old rusted city limits sign. As they went forward, they passed the empty gas station, shops, and some of the business establishments that lined up on the road.

It was odd and strange to say the least to be in an abandoned town all by yourself. If that person is honest, they would probably say it's almost...otherworldly, depending on how different it feels to just stand there and listen to...nothing.

The thing about towns, is that there's always a sign of life coming from them. From the opening of doors in shops, restaurants, and homes, to cars driving on streets, to people walking around on sidewalks. That would at least show that there's some form of life in a town. And towns are known for the people, rather than the places.

But for the case of Chinmoku...you can pretty much say that this town...died.

Never to have life in it again because of whatever economic reason. Never to be lived in again, never to enjoy what the town has to offer again, never to work in again, _never again_ to be a town.

And Chinmoku wasn't a small town. In fact, it was a decent size to be a small city from what the kids saw on the tour.

Which made it all the more haunting.

They were all alone in an abandoned city...with no people in it at all...except only themselves.

But their presence won't bring the town back to what it once was.

Because this whole town...died a long time ago.

Chinmoku was _dead_ a long time ago.

As they all passed an intersection, Momo said what was on everyone's minds. "It's way too quiet here."

"Tch, yeah, no shit, extra." Bakugou scoffed.

Momo turned to glare at the blonde's rude response.

"Well, uh," Tsuyu said, trying to diffuse any tension between anyone and Bakugou. "Here we are. *ribbit*"

Midoriya looked around their area. "Man...being here feels even... _weirder_ without the tour bus present." Midoriya commented.

"Yeah, it's...kind of creepy." Uraraka said as she hugged herself to give herself some comfort, letting the chill go up her back.

"Creepy is an understatement, I'll admit." Shouto said as he looked around his surroundings. "Especially with this fog."

"Yeah, about that, where the hell is all of this even coming from, anyway?" Kyouka asked. "I mean, I know from when cool and hot air meet and all that science jazz, but...it can't produce this much amount of fog, can it?"

Bakugou grunted at their observations as he turned to face the others. "It's just shitty fog, ya idiots, there's no need to piss your pants acting all fucking scared."

Jirou scowled at him. "Hey, we aren't scared. It's just this fog is annoying as all hell."

"Yeah." Tsuyu said. "I mean, sure, it's a little creepy, but we're all just trying to be cautious, Bakugou. If the Hero Killer is here, then this fog could be either a good advantage or a disadvantage for us."

"Huh...yeah." Izuku said, his hand to his chin as he thought about that. "Actually...this fog appeared out of nowhere, really. What time is it now?"

Momo fished out her phone out of her skirt pocket and checked the time. "It's 19:30. The sun will set soon." She looked thoughtful as she understood what Izuku was saying. "...You know, this fog did come in a little too early."

"Oh come on!" Bakugou exclaimed in irritation. "What's there to fuckin' worry about?! It's _fucking fog_!"

"Kaachan!" Midoriya urged Bakugou to keep silent. "We shouldn't raise our voices if the Hero Killer is actually here. We need to be quie-" Midoriya started to say, but was, of course, abruptly cut off by the blonde.

"Oh, just fuck _off already,_ ya damn _Deku!"_ Katsuki just said with a snarl as he glared at Midoriya, who just flinched.

Ochako frowned at Bakugou's behavior. "Bakugou! That's enough! Don't be a jerk right now!"

"Right now? I thought he was being one the whole time." Kyouka said dryly.

"Me too. *ribbit*" Tsuyu said with a nod.

Shouto decided he(as well as everyone else) had enough of Bakugou's attitude and said, "You know, Bakugou, you could just, oh, I don't know, listen to our reasoning here?"

"Yeah." Momo said as she scowled at Katsuki. "If you could just think for a second, we can try to think up some sort of strategy for when we do meet whomever it is that Iida saw. Maybe even try to navigate this fog while we're at it."

Bakugou just growled at them for a few seconds, until he huffed and crossed his arms, looking away with a scowl on his face. He then sideway glanced at them "... _Fine_. Do things your way, ya damn office supplies. _Only_ for now. But when the Hero Killer shows up, I'm taking him down. Everyone got that?"

Shouto and Kyouka rolled their eyes, while Tsuyu shrugged, looking unimpressed. Momo just kept glaring at him, while Ochako just took a sigh of relief.

Izuku nodded. "Okay, Kaachan, that's fine. We're just only trying to look out for each other."

Katsuki turned his attention to Izuku and sneered at him. "...Tch. Whatever. So, what stupid plan are we gonna have?"

Upon seeing that Bakugou is now being a little cooperative, Momo was about to say something, when she noticed she still had her cellphone in her hand. Looking down at it, she has an idea. "Wait...do any of you have your phones with you?"

Midoriya instantly knew what she's getting at, "Oh yeah! We can use our phones in case we split up to find Iida!"

"Exactly." Momo said with a nod and a smile.

"Hm. That could work." Todoroki commented as he got his phone out of his jean pocket. "We can also use it to light our way through the town once it gets dark."

"Hey, yeah!" Uraraka said with a smile as she got her phone out of her jean pocket.

"Wow, so far we have our phones. This is convenient. *ribbit*" Asui said, getting hers out of her shorts pocket.

"Ah, the wonders of technology." Jirou joked as she got hers out of her jean pocket.

Midoriya, glad that everyone brought their phones, got his out of his jean pocket and said, "Okay, so we got our phones." He noticed that Bakugou wasn't getting his phone out. "Uh, Kaachan? Do you have your phone?"

Bakugou growled and glared at Midoriya. "Of course I do, ya dumbass." He roughly dug it out of his jean pocket and showed it to him. "See? Now what the fuck is our plan here? Are you making our shitty plan, Deku, or what? If you are, then it better be good." He said with a slight snarl.

Momo frowned at Bakugou's behavior towards Midoriya. ' _Goodness...I wonder what their history is for Bakugou to act this way towards Midoriya?'_

She wasn't alone in her thought as even Tsuyu, Ochako, Shouto, and Jirou were thinking it.

"Uh, w-well..." Midoriya lowered his head in thought. "...Well, I feel like in order to find Iida, we need to split up. I don't think he would've left his phone, but we could call it if he does have it...although, that's if we do know his number. And actually, whether it really is Stain, or it was someone else impersonating him, we don't want him to be spotted by whoever it was he saw."

"So what do we do?" Jirou asked him.

' _Since when was I the leader here?'_ Midoriya thought to himself. "Um...well, we can text each other to communicate and see if maybe we've found Iida. Or maybe we can text him if we know his number, but that might make noise too...you know, I think some of us should at least give our phone numbers out to whomever just in case, so we can keep in contact with the other. We should probably put them all on silent as well, so our texts won't make noise. Also, finally, if anyone doesn't want to give out their phone numbers, then that's fine, but we, um, should probably have some volunteers to do so."

"Jirou and I exchanged our phone numbers a while back." Momo told him, with Jirou nodding at that claim.

"Oh! Tsuyu and I just exchanged numbers today!" Ochako told everyone.

"It's true." Tsuyu nodded.

"Alright then." Shouto said as he turned to Izuku. "I guess all that leaves is to share my number to you now, huh, Midoriya?"

"Uh, heh, yeah, I guess so." Midoriya said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Here's min-"

"Hey! What about me!?" Bakugou growled.

Shouto, Momo, Jirou, and Tsuyu looked at Bakugou with a deadpan look.

"Uh, no offense, but I would rather share my number with Mineta than share mine with yours." Jirou monotonously said to Katsuki.

"A little extreme, Jirou, but I get where you're going." Momo said with a smirk. "As for me? I just don't want to share mine with Bakugou."

Shouto raised an eyebrow at Katsuki. "Honestly, what kind of conversations do you think we would even have?"

"That's a ditto to me as well. *ribbit*" Tsuyu said with an unimpressed look.

Bakugou growled louder. "Well, I don't want to share my number with _fucking Deku_!"

Midoriya sweatdropped. "Okay, Kaachan, that's fine.

The blonde sneered at Izuku. "Tch!"

Everyone then turned to look at Uraraka, which the girl noticed that they were staring at her. Upon seeing their eyes on her, her own eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? Wh-What are you all looking at me for?"

"Um...well, maybe you could...lend your number to Kaachan?" Midoriya asked, feeling somewhat odd upon saying that.

"EH!?" Uraraka froze as she looked at Izuku with a blank stare, and then turned her head to look at Katsuki, who was giving her a scowl.

...Certain thoughts were going into Ochako's mind

First of all, she mentally asked God 'why her?', secondly, she didn't want to look like she only wanted Izuku's phone number, and third...well, she didn't want to be rude.

' _...Shit.'_ Ochako is having the worst luck right now.

Seeing that everyone is still staring at her, expecting her to say something any moment, with Bakugou just getting more impatient, she just decided to accept her fate.

"Uh...okay." Uraraka said in uncertainty.

Katsuki grunts and gets his phone ready. "Alright then, Round Face, give me your number."

' _...I never thought I would hear that from Bakugou.'_ "Um, okay." She showed him her phone number on her phone, and the explosive Quirk user then copied it into his.

Meanwhile, everyone was thinking one thing, even Midoriya.

' _Poor Uraraka.'_

Once that was done, Midoriya said, "Um, okay then, so...I guess we should split up into...two groups?" He asked anyone to see if that was acceptable.

Shouto nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"The question is, who are we going with?" Tsuyu wondered out loud.

"I ain't going with Deku." Katsuki grumbled.

"Well, maybe Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugou could go in a boys' group while we go in a girls' group?" Jirou suggested.

"Huh? Are you sure?" Midoriya asked, a little wary. He then backtracked what he said, "I-I mean, I'm not saying you girls aren't c-capable and that you n-need help, I was just, uh...I just thought it would be weird to leave you girls all alone here in this town."

Jirou smirked. "Hey, don't worry, Green. We appreciate the thought, but I think we can manage."

"A-Actually, maybe we need a guy to balance out the group, just in case?" Uraraka spoke up quickly, as she took a quick glance at Midoriya. "J-Just so we can, uh...have some sort of protection?"

Tsuyu turned her head to Ochako to look at her with a confused blink, but saw that she quickly glanced at Midoriya. Putting the pieces together, she thought, ' _Ah, okay. Hmm...maybe I could help her out...also, I think it would be a good idea to have at least one guy come with us.'_

"You know, why not mix things up a bit?" Tsuyu said as she turned to Midoriya. "How about we select you to watch over us gals, Midoriya?"

Izuku's eyes widened as his face was red at the request. "Wh-What!? I, uh, I, uh, w-w-well, u-u-u-uhhhh, um…"

Ochako's eyes also widened in shock, but didn't say anything as she glanced at Tsuyu, and upon seeing that she gave her a knowing smile, the Gravity Quirk user blushed a tiny bit.

' _Oh...wow. Um, thanks Tsuyu!'_

Momo thought about that for a moment. ' _Hmm...it makes sense. Maybe when we find Iida, Midoriya would talk some sense into him. He seems to know a little more about Iida than us...and there's also Uraraka. She and Iida are friends, too.'_ She glanced at Jirou, who looked a little confused at what's happening right now. Her mind wandered back to the tour bus, as she and Iida were next across from Jirou and Todoroki's seats. She took a glance at Jirou to see if she was communicating with the half-temperature Quirk user, as from what she knew about her, that she was a little shy on starting conversations with other people in general, especially around boys. Upon seeing that she was talking to Todoroki about music(which she felt kind of bad for eavesdropping again), and seeing that they were hitting it off, Yaoyorozu felt happy for her. She was coming out of her shell, per se…

' _Hmm…'_ Yaoyorozu glanced at Todoroki who was just as confused at this turn of events as Jirou was. ' _...You know, I think this could help Jirou. Besides, seeing them talk to each other was kind of cute to see.'_

Smiling at that, Yaoyorozu tapped Jirou on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Jirou said as she turned her head at Yaoyorozu.

Momo leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Why don't you go with Todoroki and…" She rephrased what she said. "Well, why don't you go with Todoroki?"

Kyouka blinked and blushed. "Wha-What?"

Todoroki turned to Yaoyorozu and Jirou. "Hm? What's up?"

Jirou looked at Todoroki and blushed a tiny bit. "Uh, n-n-nothing! W-We were-"

"-Thinking maybe Jirou here could go with you and... _Bakugou_ , since Midoriya would be coming with us." Momo finished for Kyouka with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Huh!?" Jirou looked at her with wide eyes.

"HUH!?" Midoriya's eyes widened like saucers and almost looked like he was having a heart attack.

"Huh?" Uraraka said as she blinked in query.

Tsuyu just blinked. "...Uh, what now? *ribbit*"

Todoroki and even Bakugou blinked.

"I mean, five is a crowd for this group, and since we're borrowing one of your guys, we might lend you one of our girls to even things out. Besides, Todoroki, I would think you want to talk to someone else besides Bakugou."

Shouto blinked and looked at Kyouka, who stood there frozen in place. "...Uh...okay. That'd be cool." Shouto said, scratching his cheek, his face almost flushing.

Kyouka's eyes widened even further as her blush became a little noticeable now.

Bakugou on the other hand just glowered at them. "Tch! What, I'm not fucking interesting?"

"To be honest, no, you're not." Todoroki said to him in monotone.

Katsuki growled at him, until he 'harrumphed'. "...Eh, at least it's not _Deku_."

Midoriya didn't even register what Bakugou said as he was thinking one thing.

' _I'M GOING TO BE AROUND GIRLS! OH NO. OOOOOH, NO, NO,_ NO _! AND I HAVE TO PROTECT THEM! OH SHI-whoa, okay, hold on, don't panic. This is okay. You can do this...you CAN do this. And they can fight for sure, you know that! It's just...well, they're very attractive and...I...I'm not the best when it comes to communicating with girls, and…and I am so screwed, am I?'_

Midoriya was apparently shaking in anxiety, but thankfully no one seemed to notice this too much.

Meanwhile, Jirou blinked, unable to express how she feels about this.

' _Yaomomo, what the hell!? I mean, I know what you're trying to do, but...come on! I just know Todoroki by his taste in music, and Bakugou...yeah, no way in hell. I mean, Todoroki is basically the only guy that I can communicate with as of now, and...oh...oh...OH…'_

Momo leaned down at the punk rock girl once more and whispered, "You'll thank me later."

Kyouka didn't reply back, now feeling almost a tad bit nervous about what's happening as of right now.

She gulped.

' _...She saw us conversing, didn't she?'_

Before Kyouka could think any further about this predicament, Izuku said, "W-Wait a minute! I-I mean, I-I'll surely w-watch over you girls, b-but are you, uh...well, are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally." Tsuyu said as she nodded. "I mean, when worst comes to worst, you can always super-punch anyone that may be a potentially stronger enemy as a last resort."

"Uh...o-okay." Izuku nervously said, feeling the weight on his shoulders.

' _Well, I just have to only use my fingers from here on in...I guess.'_ Izuku thought reluctantly.

"Then it's settled." Momo said. "However, I suggest we use our phones when we really do actually need them, since we don't want to waste our phone battery."

Everyone agreed on that, and lowered the battery power on their phones.

"Alright, I think we should probably get a move on." Momo advised everyone. She looked behind her at the foggy street. "I think we'll take this street behind us."

"Okay. In that case, me, Jirou, and Bakugou will take this street behind us as well." Shouto said as he pointed his thumb behind him.

With everyone knowing their objectives, they went off their separate paths to find Iida, even though Jirou and Midoriya felt a little hesitant on moving forward with their new group. The former, however, would get used to it after a while once she gets accustomed to her environment. The latter, on the other hand...is a different story. But at the end of the day, it was all about finding their classmate and friend.

So with that, both groups trekked through the town's foggy streets...hoping that Iida is alright.

* * *

_**[With Bakugou, Todoroki, and Jirou]** _

Walking through the foggy streets, the three kids remained silent, each walking side by side. Jirou was walking next to Todoroki's right, while Bakugou was on his left side.

As they traveled down the street, Jirou took a glance at all the empty businesses that would advertise certain products on display in their window, as well as the small cafes with their outdoor seating being vacant.

Some of the shops sell electronics, toys, appliances, and other home goods. There was the occasional restaurant that sat out among the cafes, and also some clinics, inns, and banks.

"Man...this place actually is pretty creepy without any people here..." Jirou muttered.

Todoroki hummed in agreement. "To think this town used to be filled with activity…it's a shame..."

"Yeah…" Jirou stopped for a moment to look around the street they were in. Upon her observations, she sees an old antique toy store with it's display window intact…

There were also some toys being shown behind the window.

Curious, she went over to the toy store.

Todoroki and Bakugou looked at Jirou, the former wondering where she was going.

As soon as she went over to the display window, Kyouka can clearly see the items that are being displayed inside the store's display case.

They were three dolls on each display mantle, each with the same dark hair and porcelain features. One was in average, modern day clothes, the other in a frilly intricate dress, and the last doll was...wearing nothing.

Jirou's face scrunched up at the line up of dolls. She wasn't really into dolls, but she can appreciate them for what they are. For her, it was always music that interested her.

"See something you like?" Todoroki's voice came behind her.

Kyouka jumped a bit and turned around to face Shouto. "Oh! Uh, no, I mean...well, they're just dolls, I got no use for them." She said with a sheepish shrug.

"Ah, okay." Shouto nodded. He looked at the dolls himself. "I wonder what they're doing displayed like that?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too, honestly." Jirou looked back at the display window.

"Hmm…" Todoroki gazed at the dolls for a moment. Dark hair, small figure, 'skin' almost white like porcelain...he looked at the one in modern ordinary clothes. "...This one looks like you, in a way."

The purple-haired girl was looking at the doll, but then she turned to Todoroki with a surprised look on her face, complete with a small blush. "Wha?"

Realizing how that sounded, Shouto blinked and turned his head to Jirou, now looking like he'd been caught in the headlights like a deer. "...I-I mean...n-not in a bad way."

' _What the? Not in a bad way? What does that even mean?'_ Todoroki thought.

"I-I mean...I-I don't know if there's a bad way to look like a doll or...or anything. ...O-Or maybe...maybe there _is_ a bad way to look like a doll." He rambled.

' _Wait, what!? What am I doing!?_ _Am I actually stuttering right now?'_ Todoroki thought in a slight panic. ' _...Oh no, am I getting what Midoriya has? ...Wait, what_ does _Midoriya have?' Oh crap, nevermind, it doesn't matter, she's still staring at me! Think of something not stupid to say!'_

"Uh, I, uh, I'm not saying you're a doll…" Shouto had to think for a second to convey what he said. "I mean, not a material one! No, wait, I meant, I think, uh, I just, um...I think dolls...are...pretty?"

Jirou stared at him, blinking at his comment. "Uh…"

"..." Todoroki froze.

' _...What in the living hell is happening right now?'_

...Jirou stifled a snicker, and soon started to laugh.

...Shouto was now red with embarrassment.

_'...So, this is what getting embarrassed feels like...I blame Midoriya for this right now.'_

The girl laughed as she clutched her sides, her laughter soon subsiding. "Wow." She said in between chuckles. "You know what? I'll just save you from embarrassment and say that I really appreciate the compliment."

"...Oh. Uh...okay." Shouto sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his head, his face still a little red.

Jirou smirked and was about to say more, when Bakugou's loud voice interrupted her.

"HEY! ENOUGH WITH YOUR FUCKING FLIRTING! WE NEED TO GET A MOVE ON ALREADY!" Bakugou yelled in annoyance over where he was.

Both boy and girl looked at the blonde with dumbfounded looks on their faces and slightly flushed. They both were going to glance at each other, but decided against it as they didn't want to make things even more weirder. So they just caught up with Bakugou and continued walking in silence.

Of course, each was thinking slightly different things.

' _Heh, wow, who would've thought Todoroki was an awkward flirt?'_ Jirou thought with a small smile.

 _'Ugh, I can't believe I said that! D_ _olls are PRETTY? What in the...what was wrong with me back there?!'_ Todoroki thought with a slight wince.

' _Oh fucking great. Now I have to chaperone these two idiots while they make googly eyes at each other. Eugh! Just my mother-fucking luck...'_ Bakugou scowled with a grimace.

They kept walking…

* * *

_**[With Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui, and Yaoyorozu]** _

Midoriya is inwardly trying to understand his situation here.

Walking alongside with three cute and attractive young women was kind of making the young man's mind blank. So much, that he was walking ahead of them just a bit.

"Uh, Midoriya?" Tsuyu's voice caught his attention.

"Wha-huh!?" Midoriya blurted as he abruptly turned around to face the girls with surprised wide eyes.

It was then Momo spoke up. "Uh, are you okay, Midoriya?"

Blinking, Midoriya answered. "Uh...y-yeah, I just…" He gulped. "S-Sorry, it's just that...I feel like I have a lot of responsibility to watch over all of you girls."

Uraraka smiled. "Aw, don't worry, Midoriya. We can surely take care of whatever may be out here!"

Tsuyu nodded with a smile as well. "Yeah, Midoriya! *ribbit* We won't be push-overs, so don't worry about us. But if we ever do go up against the Hero Killer or anyone like him, then like I said, your super-punch can be our last resort. *ribbit*"

Momo heard the word 'pushover' and froze. She'd remembered her botched fight against Tokoyami and how pathetic she looked out there. How she embarrassed herself in front of thousands of people in the Sports Festival. How she made herself look like a…

' _Like a pushover…'_ Momo cringed at that.

"Oh, well, o-okay! I-I mean, still, I-I'll surely look out for you girls and keep you all sa-" Once he turned to Yaoyorozu, he saw the bothered expression on her face. Midoriya blinked and asked her, "Uh, Yaoyorozu, a-are you alright?"

Uraraka and Asui both looked at the girl to their left, which they noticed her troubled look.

Wondering what's wrong, Uraraka asked, "Yaoyorozu? Are you okay?"

Hearing their voices made Momo snap out of her thoughts. "Huh? Wh-What?"

"You looked a little distracted. *ribbit*" Tsuyu told her.

"Oh, uh, it's, um, it's nothing really I…" Momo shook her head. "L-Look, we really do need to try to look for Iida. Who knows what sort of trouble he'll be causing right now?" She glanced up at the sky to see how much light they've got, which the day looked to be darkening every minute. "And it's gradually turning into night..."

Midoriya was a little confused at Yaoyorozu's sudden recovery, but took her lead as he looked up at the sky. "Yeah…it is gonna be night soon." He got his phone out and looked at the time. "19:50…" He sighed. "Well, if it does turn into night soon, we need to use our phones to light up our path...but it'll take a lot of battery."

Before anyone could say anything on that matter, however…

_**CLINK.** _

The four kids jumped at the sound.

_**CLINK.** _

Then there was another.

_**CLINK.** _

And another.

_**CLINK.** _

And a few more.

_**CLINK.** _

_**CLINK.** _

_**CLINK.** _

The kids looked around the area they were in to see that...there was light...right above them.

They looked up.

* * *

"What the fuck?" Said Bakugou in confusion.

Todoroki and Jirou looked at their surroundings as well. They were near an entrance to another small park, and all around that park...as well as around them…

"What the…?" Shouto said, baffled.

"Uh...this place... _is_ abandoned, right?" Jirou asked warily.

* * *

"...Lights?" Izuku questioned as he looked up.

"Huh?" Tsuyu muttered as she looked up as well. "Wait a minute…"

"But...that's...what?" Ochako said in confusion, an unsure frown on her face as she glanced up.

Momo blinked as she looked up at what she's seeing. "But...wait...there's...no one here...right?"

What they were looking at…

...were the turned-on street-lamps that lit up the streets.

Midoriya looked ahead at the path they were taking.

More street-lamps were lined up and lit just like the rest.

The fluorescent lighting of these lamps illuminated certain areas on the street, some of them being bright and well-lit up…

While a few of the lights were flickering...

It created...a somewhat foreboding feeling...

Which begs the question...

' _...Who...who turned these on?'_ Midoriya thought to himself _,_ now feeling really cautious right about now.

* * *

_**...Congratulations…** _

…

_**...You've been chosen…** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! :D They've finally reached the town! Now some spooky and creepy stuff will happen sometime soon! :) However, I do need to put this on hold, as I got a lot of busy stuff to do as of this moment, such as packing and moving to Houston in mid-July, as well as catch up to other stories. D: But yeah, that's the news I have as of right now! XD I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! ^_^
> 
> Do you all like it? Give me a comment, kudos, and maybe a bookmark or...whatever! XD I love to hear what you all think! :)
> 
> As for the next chapter, it'll come when it comes, heh. But it'll also feature some familiar OC's! What does that mean for the story? Well, you'll have to find out! ;D
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading! Keep on rocking, everybody! :)
> 
> -TSP


	6. Why Are You Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids meet odd and interesting people as they split up, and Izuku gets a strange but alarming call...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Fixed a big plothole that someone mentioned in a review in FF.Net! You know which one I'm talking about folks if you watched/read the anime/manga! D:

**[Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui, Yaoyorozu]**

"Uh...guys? Who turned these lights on?" Ochako asked her friends hesitantly as she lowered her gaze to them.

"That's...a very good question," Momo muttered as she also lowered her gaze to look at her classmates.

"Um...m-maybe the town just has an automated timer for when the town goes dark?" Izuku theorized as he looked on ahead at the path they were going. "I-I mean...that makes sense, right?" He turned to his female classmates, looking for someone to agree on that notion.

Tsuyu lowered her gaze away from the street lights to look at Midoriya. "Y-Yeah...that could be it."

"But...why would anyone light up an abandoned town at night time?" Ochako asked them, her face filled with clear confusion and caution.

"Well...maybe it's, uh, part of the attraction?" Izuku speculated. "Like the whole town is lit up to make it feel like it's an actual town? And maybe the lights would be like a guiding light for drivers on the road?"

Momo pondered that with a hum and a hand on her chin. "...Those sound like they can be very plausible reasons."

"Y-Yeah! I mean, it is a park after all. That has to be it, right?" Izuku said with a relieved look on his face, glad that his reasoning made some sense.

...Not that he was creeped out by the street lights coming on by themselves one by one or anything. There _has_ to be a reason for it to even happen...right?

Ochako and Tsuyu both seemed to accept that conjecture as they took sighs of relief.

Yaoyorozu looked to be in deep thought for a second. "...I mean...it sounds about right, but...that type of revenue from the park would be phenomenal. They must have a lot of visitors to let this place light up the way it is now…"

Midoriya froze, as well as the other two girls looked curious..

"Oh...yeah…" Izuku thought about that for a bit.

"In fact, I wouldn't think they would light up the town like this every night. That would waste a lot of money." Momo said as she contemplated. "...But I could be wrong, and this place could have that type of money." She looked up at the street lights again, seeing that some are bright, while one flickered in the distance. "...Either way, these lights could give us away from whoever it is that Iida saw."

Izuku winced. "Oh...yeah, there's….there's also that, huh?"

Ochako and Tsuyu froze, the former being a little nervous, while the latter felt a little cautious.

Turning to her other three classmates, Momo sees the uncomfortable expressions on the two girls' faces. Upon seeing that she might've alarmed them, she winced and said hastily, "Uh, I-I mean, it's not like whoever is out there will come to our location right now or anything. We can...uh, just try not to be in view of the street lights..."

Izuku turned to Momo and gave out a sheepish smile. "Oh, uh, yeah! G-Good idea, Yaoyorozu! We should, uh...we should probably get a move on then."

Momo smiled at Midoriya's suggestion. "Yes, we probably should."

"Uh, r-right!" Ochako said with a hesitant nod, but her face soon turned into one full of confidence.

"Yeah. We just, uh...we just have to be careful about where we go now, *ribbit,*" Tsuyu informed, taking glances at her surroundings to make sure they are, in fact, alone.

Once they continued back down their path, they made sure to hold hands(which fueled Izuku's anxiety more) to try not to lose each other in the fog. The only sounds they could hear were their nervous heartbeats, as well as the sounds of their own footsteps echo throughout the street. They were just footsteps, but each time they stepped onto the ground, they couldn't help but count the noises to make sure that a foreign one didn't suddenly join them.

Ochako looked around her, glancing at the shops and the street lights, although mostly at the latter. The lights were exactly bright enough, almost as if they had LED light bulbs in them, showing a clear definition of the paved graveled ground in its spotlight. That one street light that was flickering on and off went spastic, until it stopped, slowly going dark...until it started flickering again a second later.

"Well...at least we, um...at least we don't have to use our phones to light the way. You know, preserving our battery and, um...and stuff," Ochako told everyone.

Izuku turned his head towards the brunette, who was walking next to him with a reassuring smile as they walked. "Yeah. We're lucky these street lights even turned on."

Momo, who was next to Izuku, turned her head to him and nodded. "Indeed...although, it was a surprise when all of them turned on."

Tsuyu, who was next to Ochako, nodded in agreement. "Yeah…" She was silent for a second. "...Actually, shouldn't all street lights just...turn on exactly at the same time? They just...turned on one by one."

They all stopped for a moment upon hearing Tsuyu's remark on the lights.

"Um…" Izuku blinked. _That_ was _a little weird…_

He shook his head and turned to Tsuyu. "Y-You probably shouldn't worry too much about that, Tsu. Maybe the lights are...just designed that way, I guess?"

Tsuyu hummed in consideration of that. "...Yeah, you're probably right, *ribbit.*" She turned to Izuku with a smile. "Sorry. I just got a little paranoid is all."

Momo frowned at that statement. "We probably should be a little paranoid though. Whoever is out here could try to ambush us."

The rest all hummed or nodded their heads in agreement, before they continued onto the street.

 _I hope Kachaan, Todoroki, and Jirou are doing okay…_ Izuku thought, worried about his friends.

* * *

**[Todoroki, Jirou, Bakugou]**

"...Well, that was...odd." Shouto said slowly, a little cautious.

"Uh...yeah." Kyouka uttered.

Katsuki apparently recovered from the event, and just sneered at the street lights. "Tch! So some damn lights came on at night, what's the fucking deal?"

Jirou turned her head to Bakugou with a monotonous look. "Um, maybe because this town is _supposed_ to be empty?"

Bakugou growled. "I know that, ya Long Eared Bitch! It's probably just because this town has a timer set in to turn these street lights on!"

"First off, don't ever call me a bitch again, or else I'll make you sing a soprano." Jirou said with a death glare, making Bakugou almost flinch. _Almost_. "Secondly, why would this _abandoned_ town even have working lights in the first place?"

Shouto hummed, "...Maybe it's part of the attraction?"

"Tch, yeah," Scoffed Katsuki. "Exactly my damn point."

Kyouka rolled her eyes at the Explosive Quirk user and turned to Shouto. "So, you think the lights are paid by the park?"

"Has to be. How else would they be on?" Todoroki said with a shrug.

"Well...this park is taking care of a whole _entire town_ , so...how much revenue would this park even make to keep it all lit up like this?" Kyouka asked honestly.

Shouto blinked at that, while Katsuki raised a brow.

"I mean, it _is_ basically an amusement park, but...well, they would have to be getting some serious Walt Disney World-like money to light this town up at night."

"...Huh." Todoroki pondered at that for a second. "...You make a good point there."

Bakugou scoffed. "Who the hell cares? Whatever they're doing to keep these lights on, it's way better than using our phones to light up our path, so let's stop fucking around with our time and get a move on!" He walked up forward to the entrance gate of the small park, the sign saying ' _Middouitchi Park'_.

Jirou scowled at Bakugou's back while Todoroki just glared at him.

"He's really intent on 'finding' our friend, isn't he?" Shouto said in monotonous sarcasm.

Jirou sighed in aggravation at Bakugou. Turning to Todoroki, she said. "Well, either way, he is right about one thing: we don't have to use our phones now, thanks to these street lights. We can save the battery on them."

"Yeah...there is that." Shouto turned to Kyouka. "But what you said does make sense. I wonder if the whole town is all lit up?" He glanced down in thought. "...Or if it's just certain parts of the town?"

The Rocker Girl shrugged. "Heck if I know. I don't know much about business and financial stuff, but I know that they have to get a lot of money to keep this place running."

"Hm…" Todoroki pondered more about that.

"Hey! Get your fuckin' asses over here already!" Yelled a frustrated Katsuki.

Jirou frowned at the direction where Bakugou's yell came from. Groaning slightly, she turned to Shouto, "Well, let's catch up to the angry jerk, shall we?"

Todoroki smirked at Jirou. "Okay then. Lead the way."

"Tch, thanks." Jirou smirked as well.

They walked up to the entrance to the park as well, hoping the bad-tempered young man was still there waiting for them. When they caught up with Bakugou, they moved through the densely fogged-filled area on the park's walkway.

As they walked through the park though, they felt as if the fog was getting thicker...

"Damn, seriously, what is _up_ with this fog?" Kyouka grumbled as she trudged forward.

"It is getting ridiculously thick right now, isn't it?" Shouto muttered, squinting his eyes through the mist around them as he walked.

"Eh, quit complaining and keep moving, ya extras." Grumbled Katsuki, still up at the front of them.

Jirou heard his mumble with her sensitive ears and glowered at him. "Oh I'm sorry, are you our leader now? Since when?"

Bakugou growled as he stopped to turn his head to Kyouka to snarl out. "Since now, so shut up, Long Ears!"

Todoroki frowned. "I don't really see you as 'leader material', Bakugou."

Fully turning around, Katsuki sneered and glared at him. "Oh, so you think _you_ can do a better job leading us, IcyHot!?"

The Hot and Cold Quirk user narrowed his eyes at Katsuki in disdain. "Yeah, I think I could. First round of order: stop being an ass."

Jirou snickered.

"Shut the fuck up!" Bakugou yelled at the rocker girl, his right eye twitching.

Kyouka rolled her eyes as Shouto crossed his arms in disapproval, saying, "You got a real attitude problem, you know that?"

"You shut up also, Scar-Face, before I blow you up another scar!" Bakugou growled. "Tch! You don't want that happening again, don't ya?"

Shouto eyes widened for a brief second, and narrowed again, this time in a death glare. "You better back the hell off, Bakugou."

"Or what, Loser!? Huh!?" Bakugou got up into Todoroki's face and glared at him, the latter doing the same.

 _Oh boy._ Jirou cringed. "Hey, guys, listen, let's not try to kill each other right now, alright? We need to find Iida. This is really getting us nowhere."

Todoroki kept his glare focused on Bakugou, before sighing through his nose. "Jirou's right. We should start acting a little civil and tolerate each other a little bit longer."

Bakugou sneered. "Tch! Yeah, well, I've heard enough out of all of you extras. I ain't gonna stick around with any of you damn losers any longer." He then turned around and started walking forward.

"Hey, where the hell are you going!?" Jirou called out irritably to him.

"If you don't want me to lead, then you can all just do whatever the fuck you want in this town, like make out or some shit. I'm not going to get weighed down by you office supplies from getting over to Stain." Bakugou told them as he walked off into the fog once more.

Kyouka growled at Katsuki in aggravation. "We're trying to save Iida too, ya know!?"

"Yeah, whatever. I'll find Stain, and you idiots can go find Four-Eyes. Just don't get in my way." And with that, Bakugou disappeared in the fog.

Jirou just glared back at the dispersing blonde. "Is he serious right now!?" She turned to Todoroki. "Come on, we got to catch up to that idiot!"

Shouto sighed. "Yeah, I guess we have to, don't we?"

Before they begin to power-walk over to Katsuki, for a moment, Shouto thought he saw something at the corner of his left eye.

"Huh?" He paused to look to his left.

Kyouka stopped when she didn't hear his footsteps coming after her. "Huh? Todoroki, what's up?"

"...I...I see something over there." He said, focusing on his left with squinted eyes

"You do?" Jirou asked, turning at the direction where Shouto was looking.

Deep in the thickness of the fog, they could see something, but just barely...

There was...some sort of a light present inside the fog. But it wasn't from one of the bright, white and yellow street lights that were lined up in the walkway of the park.

For one thing, it was _moving_. And the glow was a strange, ominous purple.

"Wha?" Jirou noticed it too. Curious, she extended her ear-jack extensions and listened in on whatever the light could be.

She could've been imagining it, but she thought she heard heartbeats coming from the glow.

The said glow looked as if it was getting closer, shining brighter with every step it took towards the group.

"What...what is that?" Jirou mumbled in confusion as she retracted her ear-jack extension.

"I...don't know." Todoroki answered with a puzzled mutter as well.

Kyouka decided to call out to the light. "Hey! Hello!?"

The light suddenly flashed yellow, until it eventually transitioned back to purple.

The two teens blinked and stood straight, a little high on alert.

"Uh...h-hello?" The voice was coming from the light. It sounded young and feminine, as well as confused and...lost?

Blinking again, Shouto and Kyouka glanced at each other and turned their attention to the light again, the former saying cautiously, "Uh...hello?"

The light turned yellow again, but gradually turned back to purple...which seemed to now have some orange mixed in its glow as well.

"Oh, uh, h-hello! Is someone there?" the glowing lights responded.

"Uh...yeah." Kyouka said, a little wary. "Who, um...who are you?"

"Oh, uh…" Now the light turned light pink. "I...um...a-are you, uh...are you from this town?"

Shouto frowned in confusion. "Um, no. No one lives in this town...I mean, I think?" He turned to Kyouka with a bewildered expression.

"You're asking the wrong person," Kyouka said to him, who looked just as confused. She turned to the voice. "Yeah, we aren't from this town! Are you...are you from here?"

"Um…no." The voice sounded nervous, and the light turned into a mixture of pink and purple.

Curiously, Shouto furrowed his brows and asked, "Are you...doing that?"

"Huh?" The voice sounded confused, and the light turned into a normal colored pink. "Oh, the lights? U-Uh...y-yes. It's my Quirk."

"Your Quirk?" Kyouka blinked again. "Wait a minute, who are you? This town is abandoned, so no one should be here, right?" She glanced at Todoroki, feeling perplexed and almost asking him if he can confirm that.

Shouto narrowed his eyes at the light. "I thought it was too…" He then asked, "What's your name? Are you lost?"

The light turned yellow again. "Um...I...I guess I...kind of am lost…" For a brief second, the light turned purple, until it turned orange. "...My name is Orosuko Anju."

Shouto looked on at the light, a thousand questions running through his mind. But one of them stood out the most:

' _Why is she here?'_

He then leaned next to Jirou and whispered to her. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say she doesn't live in this town."

"Tch, yeah, no kidding." Jirou nodded at his obvious assumption. "Do you think she's the one who led Iida here?"

"I don't know. Unless her Quirk has some light trick to make her look like Stain, then maybe." Todoroki then raised a hand to cup his mouth. "Could you maybe come a little closer so we can see you?"

"Um…" Anju turned purple again.

 _She seems to change color a lot...could it be linked to her emotions?_ Shouto thought as he speculated. He continued, "We won't hurt you. We're just looking for a classmate of ours."

"Yeah." Jirou nodded. "Have you seen him? He's tall, has short, raven hair, and wears glasses. His name is Iida Tenya. Oh, and he has a Speed Quirk that makes him have jet engines on his legs."

Anju was silent for a moment, her body glowing orange…

The light grew brighter as she began walking towards them. The two of them tensed up, preparing themselves for a fight.

Fortunately, it seemed like that wasn't necessary, as the woman appeared harmless enough.

She looked to be older than them, her appearance pretty and looking like she's in her late teens. Her hair was shoulder length and is dark brown, and she is wearing an orange sweater, red jeans, and a pair of sneakers. She looked to be nervous, like she was afraid that the two teenagers would attack her at any moment. She was holding onto both her elbows, a sign of comfort and anxiety as she took cautious steps towards them.

The most eyebrow-raising part about this girl, however, was that her pale skin was the source of the different, glowing colors.

"Um…" Anju started to say, still keeping her distance from them but letting herself be seen. She stood there, and upon seeing that they looked harmless enough, visibly relaxed. She began to glow orange again. "I'm...I'm very sorry, I don't know who you're describing." She told them, her orange glow somehow mixed in with a little bit of blue into her skin.

"Oh...well, no worries." Jirou said, letting her be at ease. "So...your name is Anju? My name is Jirou Kyouka, and this is Todoroki Shouto."

Anju nodded her head. "Um, yes. Uh, hello, Kyouka and Shouto. W-What are your Quirks?"

"Mine is Temperature, both Hot and Cold." Shouto explained.

"Yeah, and mine is Earjack." Kyouka explained, fingering her special ear lobes.

"Oh...well, m-my Quirk is Mood Colors. They show...colors, t-through my skin." She explained.

Shouto nodded. "Okay…" He chose his next words carefully. "Uh...is there any reason why you're in this empty town?"

The older teen's eyes widened just a bit, and her color changed into a light purple. "I, uh…" her color changed into a softer yellow. "I'm...also looking for...for someone."

"Really?" Kyouka asked. "Who are you looking for around here?"

"Um, my...my Pap-I mean, my father." Anju corrected. "I'm supposed to...meet him here." She said, a little distant sounding for a moment, while her color turned slightly blue.

Todoroki took the time to observe the girl's demeanor. She was shuffling her feet a bit and hugging herself a little, looking quite reserved. Her expression seemed to show a mixture of discomfort and...sadness? Maybe that was what her recent color meant.

Before Shouto could ask her if she's alright, Kyouka continued by asking, "Okay. So, you're meeting your father here...in this...um, park?"

Anju glanced at Jirou, her expression turning slightly forlorn and awkward, while her color turned blue and pink. "I'm-I'm sorry, I, uh, I need to get going."

Shouto and Kyouka both blinked, before the former spoke up. "Wait, you said you were meeting your father here, right?"

The older teen glanced at him in surprise, her color turning yellow, until it turned purple again with a mix of pink. "I, um, I did. I'm...I'm now, um, uh...going to look for him."

"Oh…" Kyouka looked confused. "But...how did you get in this town? This town itself is now a park, so...did you get access to come here, or…? I mean, obviously you're not from here, and this place is said to be abandoned, right?"

Anju went back to purple again. "I, uh, I found a way inside." Her color fluctuated, but still remained purple. "I-I'm sorry, I really need to go. It-It was nice talking to you both."

"Wait," Todoroki said. "Do you need us to help you, or-?"

"Oh, no, I, um...I'll be fine." Anju told them as she was about to walk past them to make her leave. "Um, b-bye. I, uh...I hope we meet again."

"Uh...okay." Jirou said, still a little baffled by what was occurring here.

Anju walked past them, leaving the two younger teens to wonder what this young woman is really doing here.

Before she went into the fog though, she stopped. Turning around, she had a look of...concern. Her color was a pink...mixed with purple.

"U-Um...be careful around here. This town...y-you could get lost in it." Anju informed them.

Both Shouto and Kyouka glanced at each other and looked back at Anju.

"We will. Thank you." Shouto told her.

Nodding to them, Anju went on her way, leaving the two teens alone again.

Jirou was the first to speak after she was gone. "That was...odd."

"Yeah…I wonder what she's really doing here." Shouto thought out loud. He then looked in the direction where Bakugou supposedly went. "Well, we can't catch up to Bakugou now. It looks like we'll be on our own at the moment."

"Hm, yeah..." Jirou looked around their surroundings. "The real problem though is that we don't know where Iida or even the rest of the gang are in this fog."

"The fog _has_ gotten worse, hasn't it?" Todoroki noted as he looked around again. "I feel as if maybe we should get out of this park, and find some sidewalks close to some buildings to navigate our way around here a little better."

"Good idea." Jirou nodded.

So the two went on with their search...

* * *

**[Bakugou]**

"Tch, fuckers. That damn IcyHot thinks he can do a better job leading the group than me? He and Long-Ears can go find Four-Eyes all by themselves. I'm going to find that Stain bastard and blow his ass away. And ain't nobody, not even that fucktard Deku is gonna stop me from doing so." Bakugou mumbled under his breath.

As soon as he walked out of the park, he crossed a street to a pedestrian sidewalk full of businesses, which he took a left to keep up with his trek in the town.

A minute passed and Bakugou looked behind him.

...Nobody was following him.

"...Hmph. Pieces of shit. Of course they wouldn't follow me." Bakugou said with an irritated frown. "Not that I care. That means they won't be in my way, so that's good." He continued on the sidewalk, until he got to another street. Crossing it, he found himself next to another city block.

He kept walking and walking.

…

...Everything was too quiet...save for his footsteps...and his breathing...

...He paused on the sidewalk.

Katsuki snorted. "...Fuck. It's too damn quiet out here...that's usually not a good sign."

He looked around the fogged filled streets and up at the sky. The sun was setting and it was gradually turning into night, making the street lights more substantial to its environment.

"..." Bakugou got his phone out, and looked at the time.

_**20:14** _

"...Feh." Putting his phone back into his pocket, Bakugou kept going with his trek up the sidewalk, passing another street and on another city block.

 _Shit. I don't even know where the fuck I'm going._ Bakugou paused once more to get his bearings, but found it difficult thanks to the fog. "...Fucking damn it. Where do I go? This town is already big enough as it is, so that bastard Hero Killer could be anywhere…"

He looked ahead at the street in front of him, and thought about passing it or to be out in the open for whomever to see...if they can with this mist.

"Ah, what the hell, it's worth a shot." Katsuki mumbled.

He quickly crossed the street, and once he was in the middle of it, he stopped and looked on ahead at the road.

...He waited for about a minute until he started to get impatient.

"Come on, you damn Hero Killer! I'm here, so come out and face me now!" Bakugou yelled out.

...Nothing.

"..." Katsuki growled, and spat on the ground vehemently, muttering, "Stupid fucking Villain…" He narrowed his eyes as he pondered. "...Or maybe there wasn't one to begin with…" He sneered. "Tch! I'm beginning to think that idiot Four-Eyes was just seeing shit..."

He turned around to walk back to where he was when-

"Hello?"

Bakugou whirled around, his hands already up for a fight as he stared down the foggy road in alert.

"The fuck?" Katsuki muttered.

"...Hello!?" The voice was faint, but it was growing louder.

 _Huh...that's weird. Ain't this town supposed to be abandoned?_ Bakugou wondered. _...Wait, could that be Stain?_

The Explosive Quirk user got ready for anything as he stood there, preparing himself to blast whoever that might be coming his way. He wasn't going to go over to harm's way, so he's letting the potential harm come to him.

"...Hello!?" The voice was getting closer...

It certainly didn't sound villainous…

A few seconds later, there was a form coming from the fog...as well a little lights that were shining in the mist.

"Huh?" Bakugou uttered.

The form looked human, but...the silhouette didn't look like it belonged to an infamous villain.

The figure eventually got close enough to where Bakugou could properly see him.

It was a handsome man who looked to be in his late-twenties and was of average build with dirty-blonde short hair. He was wearing a green jacket with a black shirt underneath, some blue jeans, and some nice casual shoes. However, what was quite odd was that the man's right and left fingers and thumbs were lighting up from his tips like flashlights. When his lights shined on Bakugou, the man seemed equally surprised.

"Oh, uh...h-hello?" The man greeted Bakugou.

Bakugou just stared at the man, looking at him a little oddly.

 _Well shit, this ain't the Hero Killer. Who the fuck is this guy? What's he doing in this damn empty town?_ Katsuki pondered, and decided to ask those questions.

"Hey, who the hell are you?" Bakugou asked him roughly.

The man blinked. "Um...m-my name is Jasei. Sandarando Jasei."

"Hmph...Bakugou Katsuki. Just what the fuck are you doing here in this town? This place is supposed to be abandoned." Katsuki asked him.

Jasei frowned at his usage of language, but decided to not address it. "Um...I'm looking for someone."

Raising an eyebrow, Bakugou asked him. "Who?"

"My...my wife." Jasei answered, looking downtrodden for a moment.

"Why would your wife be in this town?" the blonde asked, his eyebrow raised.

"...I...I don't know." The man frowned, trying to remember what occurred in his mind. "My...My wife and I were going to sightsee around these hills. She was in the car with me, and ...I...I fell asleep behind the wheel and...and crashed...when I woke up later, I saw that my wife was...gone."

The teen narrowed his eyes at Jasei cautiously. He glanced at his right and left hands and saw that the tips of his fingers were shining out bright light.

"Hey. Is that your Quirk?" Bakugou asked him.

Jasei broke out of his thoughts and raised his hand to look at it, which the lights dimmed a bit. "Yeah...Flashlight Fingers…" He chuckled, staring at his fingers. "Not really a Hero material-like Quirk, but they're useful. Well, at least not Pro-Hero material...I could've been a Rescue-Hero, but…" The man shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Sorry, I rambled. I-I tend to do that."

Bakugou frowned at that. _Tch. Sounds like stupid Deku…_

The adult then asked Katsuki, "Actually, what are you doing here, Bakugou? And what's your Quirk?"

"For the second question, Explosion. My sweat creates nitron-glycerin, so if it ignites, it creates explosions." Staying silent for a second, Bakugou then continued. "I'm also looking for someone."

"Oh. You too, huh?" Jasei muttered as he sighed. "Well, I guess we're both looking for someone..."

"Hmph…" Bakugou stood there as he stared at this man, wondering if he should be even wary of him.

_Then again, it's fucking odd that he's even here…_

It was then Jasei suddenly asked, "Hey, have you...seen my wife anywhere? Her name is Mai, and she...has red hair." He looked concerned and bothered, probably thinking about his wife. Shaking his head again, he got his phone out with his right gloved hand and turned the face of it to Bakugou. On the locked screen, there was a picture of a beautiful red-haired woman, who was wearing a sky-blue floral dress. "Sh-She looks like this."

Bakugou looked at the picture and went quiet for a moment, until he replied, "Nah. Haven't seen her."

"Oh...okay." Jasei then took a deep sigh in disappointment and put his phone back in his pocket. "W-Well...um...thanks, anyways."

Bakugou couldn't help but stare at the man in suspicion. _He's acting kind of damn weird...ah, hell, he looks harmless enough. Can't help him find his wife, though. I got to find those shitty extras, and whoever the fuck is out here that Four-Eyes saw._ Bakugou thought.

"Eh. Well, good luck on finding your wife."

"Yeah...thanks." Jasei said a little softly. His demeanor looked confused, as he glanced around where he was. "Um...be careful around here. This fog doesn't look like it'll clear up anytime soon."

"Tch. I don't need to be careful, I can take care of myself." Bakugou muttered in a haughty tone.

"Oh...okay then." Glancing at the ground to think of something else to end on a better note with, Jasei finally said, "Well, I hope you find who you're looking for as well. Um...until then, see ya."

"Hm...yeah." Bakugou nodded.

And with that, Jasei turned around and went back the way he came up the street and into the fog, leaving Katsuki all by himself on the road.

"...That was fucking strange." Bakugou made his thoughts to himself known.

Feeling as if he should just go back to where Shouto and Kyouka were, he turned back around and walked off into the fog as well.

* * *

**[Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui, Yaoyorozui]**

The group of four teens were still navigating the fog as they held each other's hands. Momo was apparently leading the way, with Izuku, Ochako, and Tsuyu slowly being dragged behind. They couldn't afford to be lost in this fog, especially since it's nearing night time.

"Is everyone still holding on?" Momo asked them through the mist.

"I am, *ribbit.*" Tsuyu confirmed.

"Y-Yeah, so am I!" Ochako reassured her.

"U-Uh yeah! All good!" Izuku told her, still not believing he's gone this far from holding not one, but _two_ girls' hands. He hoped he wasn't sweating too much…

"Okay, good." Momo nodded. She looked ahead at their path, wondering what they should do from here. After getting to an intersection, she stopped to look at her surroundings to see where they are.

The three other kids stopped as well, with Izuku asking, "Uh, Yaoyorozu? What's up?"

Momo read the two nearby street signs, which they were on _Bakkuman Rd.,_ while the horizontal street said _Maseson St._

"Hmm…" She turned to her other classmates. "We might be bigger targets if we continue like this. I think we should split up again in two more groups."

"Really? A-Are you sure?" Ochako asked, feeling a little uneasy about the possibility of walking off into another different direction.

"I think it's for the best." Momo told her as she let go of Izuku's hand. "Me and Izuku will go up ahead, while you and Tsuyu will go to your right over on this street."

"HUH? W-W-We!?" Izuku exclaimed in shock.

Momo blinked at Izuku. "Well, yes. You know Iida a little more than Tsu and I, and Uraraka knows him a little more too, so if we go in one direction, while Uraraka goes into a different direction, then we and they will probably find Iida. If one of us finds him, one of you can talk some sense into him."

"Oh...uh, t-that kind of makes sense." Izuku said a little sheepishly.

Upon realizing that Izuku and Momo were going off _alone_ , Uraraka managed to stutter out, "Wha-wait! B-But-" She paused, though, as she realized that she was going to reveal some information on liking a certain green-haired boy.

Tsuyu, who winced slightly at Ochako's misfortune, decided to intervene. "Hey, uh, don't worry, Uraraka. I'm sure we can get through this. We, um, just got to find Iida and not get lost around here."

Uraraka turned to the Frog Girl with an uncertain frown, but after seeing Tsuyu's knowing smile,, she gave her a small smile back to her.

"O-Okay…" She turned to Momo and Izuku. "I, uh...I guess we go ahead from here. Just, um...be careful out there, uh, you guys, okay?"

Izuku smiled with a slight blush. "Oh, n-no worries, we will! You girls be careful too, alright?"

Momo looked down in thought. "Hmm...actually, maybe we should try to share our numbers too." She pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket. "What yours, Uraraka?"

"Huh?" Ochako blinked. "Uh, w-well, mine is-"

"Oh, wait, that's right. I can show you my number. Hold on." Momo went to her phone contacts, walked up to Uraraka, and showed her phone number. "Here it is."

"Uh...o-okay." Ochako said, as she awkwardly tried to get her phone out of her jean pocket.

 _Well, another wasted opportunity to get Deku's number._ Thought Uraraka in dreadful disappointment.

To add more salt to the wound, Izuku asked Tsuyu while Ochako was putting the number down, "Oh, uh, maybe we should, um...exchange phone numbers too, Tsu?"

Tsuyu, upon feeling even more sorry for Ochako, froze for a second with wide eyes at Izuku. "Um…" She blushed just a bit, and upon realizing she's not replying, she snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Uh, I mean, sure, okay. Hold on." She got her phone out of her shorts pocket, which the back of her phone showed a cute green looking frog face. She went to her contacts, and showed her number on her screen to Izuku. "Here."

"Oh, okay!" Izuku quickly typed the phone number down, his fingers fumbling in nervousness. Once he finally managed to do the task, he hesitantly said, "Um...that's a cute phone cover you have."

"Oh, uh...thanks. Nice, um, All Might cover as well, *ribbit.*" Tsuyu replied.

"Oh! Uh, thanks!" Izuku blushed a bit as he chuckled slightly.

And that was when Uraraka honestly died a little bit on the inside…

"Okay, I got it in..." Ochako said in monotone anguish, feeling depressed.

Momo frowned, noticing her demeanor. "Uh...Uraraka? Are you alright?"

Tsuyu, upon seeing her friend look downtrodden, cringed. "Uh, come on, Uraraka, let's, uh, let's go, *ribbit!* This street to our right, uh, right?" She asked Momo.

"Huh? Um, yeah, but w-we should probably let this be our meeting place when we want to regroup." Momo told them.

"Oh, yeah, *ribbit!* Sure, we can do that!" Tsuyu nodded. "Well, we should all probably go now!" She turned to Ochako and said, "Come on, Uraraka! Onward!" Grabbing her startled friend by the arm, she pulled and dragged her to their designated direction in the street, leaving the two other teens alone in the intersection.

Momo, curious about _that_ reaction, turned to Izuku with a questionable look. "What was that all about?"

Izuku looked at the girls that were going over to the street with a blink. "Honestly, I'm...a little baffled myself."

The Creation Quirk user turned to look at Izuku's line of vision for a moment, before deciding not to dwell on that right now. "Well either way, we should keep moving from here."

"Yeah…" Midoriya then realized that not only he'll be walking alongside the smartest girl in his class, but he'll be walking with one of _the prettiest_ girls in his class.

_...Oh damn._

* * *

**[Uraraka and Tsuyu]**

The two girls were walking up the street, both awkwardly silent as they ventured into the fog.

Tsuyu gave a sideways glance at Ochako, whose face looked almost as neutral as hers, albeit looking a bit sadder.

 _Oh man...I gotta say something to her._ Tsuyu thought with a little bit of shame across her features.

"...Hey, um…" Tsuyu started out.

Ochako turned to look at her.

"...He just, uh...he was just asking me because he thought that was the next thing to do is all. There's nothing behind it, no worries. He didn't do it because he was...you know, into me or anything."

The Gravity Girl kept her gaze on her, but then looked straight ahead at the path they're walking.

Not liking the silence, Tsuyu started to become a little nervous herself.

Slowly, Ochako turned her head to the Frog girl with a small smile. "I'm sorry, I know you weren't trying to take away Midoriya." she giggled lightly, to which Tsuyu let out a small, nervous chuckle as well. "And from what I've seen from Deku, he's not the type to flirt, so I know that he was just asking for your number so that he can keep in contact with us."

"Uh, yeah…" Tsuyu nodded, a little relieved that she wasn't mad at her. "I mean, of course! I totally wasn't trying to do that! I was, uh, just trying to, um, play along! Or...something." She became quiet for a second, until she said, "And yeah, I wouldn't think he would be the type to excessively flirt all the time."

Ochako chuckled at that. "Yeah, you got that right. Deku is so adorable that way...it's one of the reasons why I'm a little attracted to him."

"Heh, yeah, I can see that." Tsuyu said with a small smile.

With that issue peacefully resolved, they kept on walking down the street in silence.

 _Yeah. I can see why Uraraka is attracted to Midoriya._ Tsuyu thought with a small nod. _He's a nice guy, not too obnoxiously overconfident, always thinks about his friends, and he's pretty humble. Sure, his Quirk is strange, but he can really use it wisely when it comes to a fight. Plus, he is pretty cute-_

Tsuyu froze midstep, her eyes widening at her train of thought. Before Ochako could notice, she kept on going, quickly catching back up to her friend.

 _...That was...just a fact. Yeah, he_ is _cute. I can think that about boys like Midoriya. It doesn't mean...anything…_

The girls kept on walking, Ochako unaware of the girl next to her who's feeling a little unsure of what she just thought about her newfound crush.

* * *

**[Midoriya and Yaoyorozu]**

As they walked up the street side-by-side, Midoriya was getting more anxious of being alone with Yaoyorozu. Said girl was actually focused on the task at hand, as she glanced around for any signs of their classmate, while Izuku was just looking at the ground while they walked through the fog.

_Okay...so...I'm alone with Yaoyorozu...no big deal...except that she's a girl and...she's a pretty girl at that...she's also smart, so I can't act like an idiot in front of her, and...w-why am I so nervous here? She's your classmate, just act like you would normally act around your classmates!_

…

_...Yeah, no, I'm screwed._

"Midoriya?"

"Ack! I mean, uh, yeah?" Izuku turned to Momo, feeling a little shaky.

Momo stared at Izuku for a moment, before saying, "Where do you think we should start looking for Iida?"

"Oh! Uh...I don't...really know. We could try to look inside some of these buildings, but...which one would be the question."

"Hmm…" Momo glanced around the area they're in. "...Well, why not that convenience store over there?" She said as she pointed straight ahead.

Izuku looked at where she pointed, and saw that there was, in fact, a convenience store up ahead on the curb where the street made a right.

"Uh...yeah. Okay, that works." Izuku nodded.

They went forward to their destination, but as soon as they were close to the convenience store, they noticed something.

"Wait…" Momo muttered as she stopped.

Izuku also stopped as he looked on at the store in puzzlement.

"Hey...the lights are on." Izuku noted.

Indeed, they were. Illuminating in the fog like a ghostly lantern, the store stood out from the rest of them; a will-o'-the-wisp in a dark forest.

"...That's...strange." Momo said, feeling quite unnerved about the idea that there was someone else there with them.

"Yeah…" A thought then ran across Izuku's mind. "Wait, what if Iida is in there?"

Momo looked at Izuku, her eyes filled with realization. "Hey, you're right. We should go over there and check!"

"Yeah!" Izuku nodded and they bolted to the store.

Upon arriving, they see that the store's doors were already open, the twin doors left ajar for Midoriya to push open with ease.

Izuku frowned as he stepped inside. Contrary to what he was expecting, the store looked pretty clean and tidy, not looking like it was neglected after so many years. There were fresh advertisements on the windows, sale price banners hanging from the ceiling, and food, drinks, and other fresh items were on the shelves and in the coolers…

"...This can't be right." Izuku finally pointed it out. "T-this place should be abandoned, right? But it-it looks like any other store you would find on our streets back home."

Momo frowned, finding this place to be an oddity as well. Nothing about this entire thing made sense. Who was in there with them? Did they maintain this store as well? If so, when and why?

_**BLAUUUGH!** _

Both teens jumped at the sound.

"Huh? H-Hello?" Izuku called out, his hands tightening into fists.

Momo was just as prepared to fight, ready to create something out of her arm.

_**BLAAAUUGH!** _

They blinked at the noise, before they wrinkled their noses in disgust. The noises sounded an awful lot like vomiting.

_**PLA-BLAAAUGH!** _

Izuku and Momo both glanced at each other in question. They began to walk cautiously towards the source of the noise, passing each aisle slowly as they prepared themselves for anything.

Once they passed the third aisle though, they noticed something lying on the floor.

Turning their heads towards the thing on the floor, their eyes widened as they quickly placed their hands on their mouths to muffle their screams of terror.

There was a dead body on the floor, with blood pooling out from under its head. .

As Momo did her best to not scream and vomit herself, Izuku, whose brain never stopped working, began to examine the situation.

The body looked to be a man, wearing a red plaid shirt, jeans, and some sneakers. His whole form was face down on the floor, with his blood underneath it, and the wound seemed to be coming from his neck-length long brown-haired head.

It seemed like hours before they realized what they had to do. Their training and education finally kicking in, they dashed towards the body, but avoided stepping on the blood. Momo checked for a pulse while Izuku kept watch, in case the murderer was still nearby.

Despite their prayers, the man was indeed dead, and judging by the circular wound at the back of his head, someone had shot the poor man.

The disturbing part, however, was that the wound looked fresh. A chill ran down their spines as they realized that more blood and brain matter was still leaking out of his head, and it took everything for the poor teenage girl to not throw away the body in horror.

"My word...who could've done this?" Momo finally managed to say, before she let out a gag.

_**BLAAAAUUUGHH! BL-PL-BLAAAAAUGH!** _

The Quirk Inheritor held his tongue as his attention was brought back to the mysterious noises. His head darting around like a lizard, he realized that his ears had led him to the restroom. Slowly walking closer, he realized that the noises were coming from the men's restroom.

Momo, who had followed the green-haired boy, bit her lip as she stared at the restroom door with unease.

"Midoriya?" She whispered to him.

"...S-Stay behind me." He whispered back.

Momo glanced at him, a new look of determination filling each other's faces as they realized that they had each other. Courage coursed through their veins as they grew determined to confront whatever it was that was making the noises, who could also be responsible for the dead man back there.

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Izuku, although embarrassed that his beautiful classmate was touching him, felt all of his remaining fears and hesitation melt away.

 _I can do this,_ Izuku glared at the door, taking a few, brave steps towards the noise. _I HAVE to do this! I'm a hero, and heroes never let their fears stop them! I'm a HERO!_

And before he could change his mind, Izuku grabbed the door knob, pushing it open so that they could confront the potential killer.

…

_***HUFF...HUFF...HUFF*** _

The first thing they heard after entering the restroom was the sound of someone panting and gasping for breath; a common aftermath of nonstop vomiting, as they learned from their times as little children from when they themselves got sick.

Glancing at each other, Izuku nodded to Momo that he'll go on, while the latter nodded back, knowing what he was implying as she put on a brave face.

Once she let go of his shoulders, she began to make a metal staff out of her arm for self-defense. Midoriya nodded once more, and began to peek around the frame of the opened door.

As predicted, it was a person after all, and he was knelt over the single toilet, panting as he wiped his lips with his arm.

The man was wearing a striped blue and white horizontal shirt, along with brown shorts, white socks, and black tennis shoes. He was also wearing a blue cap that was worn backwards on his short, blonde-haired head, and was wearing a watch on his right arm. His physique looked to be a little obese, and looked like he was in his early twenties as well.

Two things stood out about this man: his ears, which resembled an animal's small, flappy ears; and his tail, a small, swirly tail which stuck out of his obese rear.

Trying very hard not to stare at the fact that his buttcrack was practically sticking out of his shorts, he cleared his throat.

"Uh...h-hey?"

The man gasped, startled as he turned around to look at the boy, still holding onto the toilet while he knelt there.

His facial features...was that of a pig. With pig ears, a snout, pink skin, and the aforementioned curly little tail that was out of the back of his shorts.

"Wha…" He was still breathing heavy and looked to be in shock. "Who…" Blinking, his cheeks puffed out as he then lurched back into the toilet again.

_**BLAAAAUUUUGGGHHH!** _

The disgusting sounds of puke splattering inside the toilet made it much more vile as he threw up again.

Izuku grimaced at the scene. Momo, who peeked in as well, couldn't help but cringed as well at the sight.

Upon finally emptying the last of his stomach, the man began heaving as he gradually began to breathe at a normal pace.

"Ugh...who…" He gulped down some air. "Who...who are you?"

"Um...m-my name is, M-Midoriya Izuku." Izuku told him, feeling almost at ease for the time being.

"Uh, yeah, and, um, my-my name is Yaoyorozu Momo." Momo told him her name as well.

The man looked at the two and gazed at them. His eyes showed a sense of fear in them, but also...a pinch of regret and guilt?

"Oh...u-uh, m-my-my name is Eda. Donburousuki Eda." The man introduced himself. It was then he looked to have remembered something, as his face was filled with realization. "Ah! I-I didn't do it!"

The two teens looked confused.

"Huh? Do...what?" Midoriya asked him.

"I-I-" Eda gulped, as he turned around and sat down on his rear now. His sitting position looked like he was hiding something behind him as he sat with his left leg bent outward with his right leg out in front of him. "I, uh, I-I just found him that way! Really!"

Izuku blinked. "What?" He then realized that he meant the body they found back there. "Oh...I mean, we weren't…" He paused as he blinked again. "Wait...what are you doing here in Chinmoku, uh, Donburousuki?"

Eda's eyes widened at that. "Uh...I-I was, I-I mean...I...uh, I took a wrong turn and I ended up here somehow. Th-This is that park that's an abandoned town, right? Like you said, Chinmoku?" He then stopped to look at both of them a little oddly. "Wait a minute, what are _you_ kids doing here in this abandoned place?

"Uh...well, we, um...we were looking for someone. Our classmate, Iida Tenya. Do you know who or where he is? He's tall, has short dark raven hair, wears glasses, and has jet engines for legs? I mean, that's his Quirk, Jet Engines." Izuku told him.

"Oh, um...n-no." Eda shook his head. "I, uh, I haven't seen the guy. Are, uh...are you guys training to be Heroes?"

Momo answered that question with a nod. "Yes, that we are."

"We're here on a school field trip for 'Quirk Responsibility.'" Izuku explained.

"Oh…" Eda looked down in dejection. "That's cool...I wish I was a Hero." He looked up. "Hey, what're your Quirks? Mine's...well, I guess it's pretty obvious by now. I mean, look at me, I'm a pig."

"Oh, uh...w-well, um, mine is, uh, Super Strength." Izuku quickly fibbed, feeling weird upon announcing his given Quirk.

"Um, mine is Creation." Momo told him.

"Huh...those sound cool." Eda looked back down in depression. "I wish I had a cool Quirk."

An awkward silence then followed, leaving the two teens staring at the pig-man with unease.

Then out of nowhere, Momo suddenly asked, "Um, who...if you don't mind...who shot that guy back there?"

Upon mentioning the corpse, Eda looked back up and his eyes became even wider. Shifting his sitting position, he said, "U-Uh…" He shook his head. "I...I don't know. M-Maybe a...a Villain or something. I just...I mean, I'm just here in this bathroom because I saw the body. I-I got sick looking at it, so...y-yeah, that's why I'm here."

Momo's eyes widened in surprise. "A Villain? Here?"

Izuku pondered what Eda had just said, "A Villain? Is...Is he by any chance Stain?"

Eda looked at Midoriya like he grew a second head. "What? The Hero Killer? Why would he be here?"

"Well, our friend said that he saw him here when we were on the tour." Izuku replied.

"Really?" Eda uttered in shock. "Whoa...man, th-that's scary."

"Yeah. And our friend is trying to find him here because...the Hero Killer did something to upset him." Izuku said as cryptic as he can.

"He did?" Eda asked. He then raised an eyebrow. "Wait...isn't the Hero Killer's base like in Hosu City or something?"

While Eda is distracted from talking, Momo glanced at something that was behind Eda's left bent leg as he shifted it a bit. Her eyes widened as she saw what looked like a black metal barrel of a colt handgun. She froze as she put two and two together.

"W-Well, that's what we're trying to find out. I mean, he _could_ be hiding here, but we don't know that yet." Explained Izuku.

"Oh...well, I guess that makes sense that he, or any other villain, would hide in this empty town if they did something pretty bad..." Eda mumbled as he took off his cap to scratch his head.

Momo's eyes narrowed in suspicion at Eda. _Yeah...sounds about right..._

"If he is here, then I guess we need to call in backup." Izuku explained, taking out his phone.

"No!" Eda exclaimed, causing the two kids to jump. "I-I mean, I…" He paused for a moment, his eyes suddenly widening as if he thought of something. "Uh, yeah! I-I mean, actually, I, uh...I don't know if you can even try. I tried calling someone before, and my phone doesn't work here for some reason."

"Oh...well, we can try both our phones outside to see if we have reception." Izuku advised.

"Actually, that's a good idea, Midoriya." Momo suddenly blurted out. "Come on, let's try outside."

"Huh? Uh, o-okay-ah!" Midoriya was quickly pulled by Yaoyorozu, who dragged him out of sight from Eda and dashed out of the store.

Eda sat there, baffled for a moment, but soon gave out a sigh of relief.

"That was close…" Eda mumbled as he reached for something behind him.

It was his gun.

"Maybe I can leave out the back exit…" Eda sighed. "I just hope the Hero Killer really isn't here though. Or any Villain for that matter…" He got up with a grunt, his stomach feeling less queasy, and staggered out of the bathroom.

When he reached for the rear exit, he looked back to glance at the kids who were outside of the store and were going back into the fog.

Eda frowned. "I hope those kids will be okay...but I can't let them find out what I did…and what I just..." He glanced at the aisle where the body was supposedly located.

A sudden surge of nausea swept over him, but he held back the vomit.

"...He... He shouldn't have...that jerk shouldn't have tested me…" Eda's eyes widened at the thought. Closing his eyes tightly, he shook his head as he gritted his teeth. "No, just...don't think about it...you...you're just confused. Besides, it's...it's done…" With a shameful frown, he exited out the back way.

…

As soon as they exited the store, Yaoyorozu kept pulling Midoriya away from the store until they're out of its perimeter and into the fog once more.

"Hey, uh, w-what's going on, Y-Yaoyorozu?" Izuku asked her when they were trying to get far away from the store.

When the fog envelops both of them, Momo stops and lets go of Izuku. She turns around to face him, saying, "Midoriya, I think that Donburousuki person shot that man."

Izuku blinked. "What?"

"I saw a glimpse of what looked like a colt .45 pistol." She clarified.

His eyes widened in shock. "Y-...You did?"

"Yeah." Momo nodded, her expression serious. "I don't know what happened, but Eda's symptoms of throwing up could mean one thing," She glanced down, frowning. "Killer's Remorse."

Midoriya went back and thought about Eda's throwing up, as well as him acting a little skittish. He heard of the term before, but it didn't register at that time...but now, thinking of what Eda's symptoms were, it made sense. "...Whoa." He stood there stunned.

Momo glanced back at the outline of the store. "Come on, we should probably find someplace else."

"Wait a minute." Izuku stopped her for a moment. "He...He didn't act like a bad guy. Besides, like you said, he may have been expressing Killer's Remorse, so he had to feel guilt. I don't really think that technically makes him bad."

Yaoyorozu's expression softened. "While that may be true, he just...he just seems mentally off."

"Mentally off?" Izuku blinked.

"I mean, I don't know...I just...didn't like the situation, is all." Momo said as she frowned, feeling odd now about abandoning Eda.

Izuku frowned as well. "Well...I mean, I understand, but...we haven't even heard his side of the story."

Momo stood there, feeling a little ashamed and conflicted.

Wincing at her demeanor, Izuku said, "But...he may have been a little...off. And we are far away from the store...heck, he could even be gone by now when we went outside, so...I thin-"

"Would I make a good hero, Midoriya?"

...Izuku blinked once more. "Huh?"

He looked up at the slightly taller girl.

She explained, "I...maybe I should have helped him. Maybe I could've...told him to turn himself in. But...I...I got _scared_." The words felt like bile in her throat.

Midoriya gazed at her, seeing that her whole demeanor now looked unsure. "Y-Yaoyorozu...you did what any other logical person would do in that situation."

The ponytailed, raven-haired girl turned her attention to the messy, green-haired boy, her expression hopeful.

"I mean," Izuku continued, "say that Eda was...bad, per se. W-We would have probably been in real danger...so, really, you might've saved us from a potential threat."

Momo stared at him, feeling almost relieved with that answer.

"B-Besides, w-we're not Heroes yet, so-"

_***BZZZT*** _

Both teens jumped at the muffled noise.

"Oh...th-that's mine." Izuku reached into his pocket to get his phone out. "Maybe it's uh...T-Todoroki or Tsu."

Once he got it out, he looked at the screen.

"...Wh…" His eyes widened. "...What?"

Curious, Momo asked, "Midoriya? What is it?"

"...I...is this…" Izuku looked closer at his phone. "I...I got a text."

Yaoyorozu blinked. "Uh...well, yes, but what does it say? Is it from Todoroki or from Asui?"

"...I don't know."

"What?" Momo said in surprise. She stood next to Izuku and looked over his shoulder to see his text on his phone.

**(?): […]**

...That was all it said.

"Just...three dots?" Momo said perplexed. She frowned when she saw that it refused to tell them who it was from.

"Wait...what?"

"I don't know, it just...it looks like I got a text from som-"

**(?): [HeY.]**

Both teens' eyes widened in shock at the text that instantly popped up.

Then there was another.

**(?): [YoU…]**

"...What the?" Izuku muttered.

**(?): [HeRe'S sOmE tRiViA fOr YoU.]**

"Wha...What is-"

**(?): [FiRsT qUeStIoN: Do YoU hApPeN tO kNoW wHeRe AsShUfIrUdO hEiGhTs CoMpLeX iS?]**

"...Uh…"

**(?): [HiNt: ThE sTrEeT nAmE iS nAmEd AfTeR wHaT hEaD eUrOpEaN mOnArCh PoSiTiOn?]**

Blinking at these bizarre texts, Midoriya looked at the screen in bewilderment.

**(?): [...Do YoU reMeMbEr?]**

Momo just looked on, feeling a little unsettled by what's happening. Meanwhile, Izuku's mind raced as he began to think about what the texts were saying.

_Kingu Street? ...Wait, that's where Asshufirudo Heights is...but that's-_

_***BZZZT*** _

**(?): [GoOd. NoW fOr ThE nExT qUeStIoN.]**

"Huh?" Izuku looked down at the text. _Did...did this text read my mind?_

Feeling a little creeped out, Izuku kept staring at the screen, while Momo looked on in dreadful anticipation.

**(?): [...WhO dId UoRutTo CaLl OuT tO rOoM 302 aT eVeRy WaKiNg MoMeNt In HiS lIFe?]**

Midoriya decided to text back to this person to get to the bottom of who's texting him.

 _**Midoriya** _ **: Who is this?**

They waited…

...

_**I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM HERE!** _

"ACK!" Izuku and Momo exclaimed.

...It happened to be Midoriya's All Might ringtone on his phone.

"Oh...uh, w-well, um, I-I guess that answers our question about our phones." Izuku muttered, as he sees who's calling him.

It said...

...There was nothing on the screen. Nothing except the 'accept call' button.

"Huh?" He pushed the talk button and put it up to his ear. "H-Hello?"

" _ **...You didn't answer the question."**_ Said a calm but cryptic male's voice.

Midoriya furrowed his brows and repeated what his text said a while ago. "Who is this?"

" _ **I'll give you a hint."**_

"Hey, w-who are you? I-Is this a prank?"

" _ **Who's the most important person in YOUR life?**_

Izuku frowned. "Hey, listen, I-I don't know what you're trying to p-pull, but-"

 **"** **Izuku, Honey."** The voice changed into someone else…

Someone familiar.

His eyes widened.

...That voice. It couldn't be.

"...What?"

Momo saw the horrified expression on Midoriya's face, and started to become concerned.

" **Please come over to Room 302 at Asshufirudo Heights on Kingu Street. I want to give you something."**

Izuku stood there in stunned silence.

...The voice changed back to the male's voice.

" _ **You better hurry. You don't want to keep**_ **MOMMY** _**waiting…"**_

"...Who is this? Who are you? Wh-Where have you-!?"

" _ **By the way, that was the answer."**_

_**BEEP-BEEP!** _

The caller hung up.

Momo, upon seeing her classmate's terrified reaction, was now getting worried. "Midoriya? Is...Is everything okay?"

"...Do you know where Kingu Street is?" Izuku asked hurriedly, turning to her with absolute fear in his eyes.

Yaoyorozu blinked. "Um...I...think so? Isn't that one of the streets we toured on? Where Uoruta was born?"

"Yeah!" Izuku exclaimed in a panic. "D-Do you know where it is!? Have you memorized it!?"

Momo frowned, wondering what's gotten into the boy. "Midoriya, what's going on?"

"Please! I'm sorry, but just answer the question!"

"Uh...I mean, I...I can't really memorize it on the top of my head. And thanks to this fog, I can't really see the street signs either, so-"

"Damn it!" Izuku cursed, and grabbed his hair with both of his hands.

Startled by that, Momo asked him, "Midoriya, what's wrong?"

"My...My mom. I...I think she's in danger!"

The Creation Quirk user's eyes widened in shock. "Y-Your mother?"

"I don't know! But…" Izuku looked at her with desperate pleading eyes. "We got to go and find that apartment complex and get to room 302. _Now_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand cliffhanger! LOL! Sorry, that's all you'll get for now! ;)
> 
> By the way, two very important updates, one on my life, and the other on this story!
> 
> 1\. First off, I've just moved into my new home! :D All I need to do now is unpack and sort out some stuff in the house, as well as my room and area! Then, I'll be all set to write, do everything I want and whatnot! :)
> 
> 2\. Secondly, about that Ochako/Bakugou angle...yeah, I've decided that that'll be more respectful friendship now than actual...romance. I mean, there'll still be some nice interactions with them, but they won't be...technically...you know, eyeballing each other and all that. I mean, I won't spoil, but...well, I'm just putting this out there. :O I hope that doesn't make any fans of this pairing mad or anything. ^^;
> 
> But yeah, how was the chapter? Was it any good? What do you think of the setup? And tell me how I did with the characters also! :D
> 
> Lastly, big thanks and shout out to Lucius Walker for helping me edit this and whatnot! :) Couldn't have done it without ya! ;D
> 
> Until then, leave a kudos, bookmark, and comment when you can! :D I love to know what you think of it! X)
> 
> Keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP


	7. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ochako and Tsuyu had a misunderstanding, causing Ochako to run off, separating them. However, Tsuyu got a phone call from someone that she wouldn't want to meet again. Meanwhile, Ochako is attacked by something...abnormal.

**[Uraraka and Asui]**

The streets of Chinmoku were eerily quiet.

Ochako and Tsuyu walked on the pavement, each of them taking little glances at their left and right. The Gravity Girl looked uneasy as the fog grew thicker, the lights from the streetlamps barely doing a thing in the dense fog. The Frog Girl would look behind her occasionally, making sure they weren't followed.

"Man...this is definitely not a place to be alone in the night, *ribbit,*" Tsuyu muttered to herself.

Ochako nodded, and added, "I really hope the others are alright."

"Yeah…" Tsuyu looked forward as she kept walking. "Whoever's out here sure picked a good place to hide out."

"Mm-hmm…" Ochako looked to her right for a moment, both of them passing a street as they walked.

It got quiet after that.

Ochako may not be the most alert in her class, but right now her senses were heightened to the max, due to the sheer silence in the streets.

...She didn't like this one bit.

She decided to try to ease the tension by talking to Tsuyu. "Uh, hey, Tsu?"

Tsuyu turned her head as she walked. "Yeah, Ochako?"

"Um...just so we won't feel like we're being watched, uh…" Ochako thought of something to say to the Frog Girl. "...What, um, what kind of guy do you specifically look for?"

Tsuyu blinked at that question, and Ochako sweatdropped at how that came out.

"I-I mean, I'm not still hooked up on that Deku getting your number thing! I'm just, uh, I'm just really curious! I mean, you never say anything about what kind of boy you might like!" Ochako said nervously.

Tsuyu blinked again. "...Well…"

Ochako felt a little embarrassed all of sudden. "I mean, n-n-nevermind! I just thought some, uh, some girl talk would be good, since, you know...we're here in a spooky, abandoned town..."

The Frog Girl raised a hand to calm her down. "Hey, hey, no worries, *ribbit.* I totally understand. And, well...I'm not really looking for a relationship with a guy right now. I mean, I'm trying to be a hero, so that's my prime objective at this moment. My love life isn't really on the top list of things that I need to be focusing on as of right now, to be honest."

"Oh...well then…" Ochako looked forward as she thought of what to say next. She turned her head back to her friend, "Well, say that you _do_ want to be in a relationship with a guy. What kind of guy would you be into?"

Tsuyu glanced at the brunette in silence. Looking at the road they were walking on, she hummed as she considered that question.

"...Well, for one thing, he has to be truthful."

"Oh, definitely." Ochako nodded to her with a smile. "Honesty is always a good thing to have in a guy."

"Yeah...and I guess…" Tsuyu blushed. "He has to be a _little_ attractive, *ribbit.* I mean, I wouldn't know, I'm not exactly a looker."

Ochako stopped as she gasped slightly and looked at her friend in shock. " _What_?! You are _so_ a looker!"

Tsuyu, startled by Ochako's exclamation, stopped as well and turned her head with a blinking look. "Huh?"

"Yeah!" Uraraka nodded in vigorously, determined to let her friend know. "You might not know it, but you have the cutest face with those round cheeks, as well as the prettiest and purest big eyes I've seen! And your hairstyle is _so_ adorable! Plus, you have a very nice body! Those hips and those legs!? I wish I had them!"

"Uh…" Tsuyu blushed at the sudden compliments. "I-I don't really...think I'm that attractive, *ribbit* And you're not giving yourself too much credit, Uraraka."

"Eh?" Ochako blinked. "W-Well, I've been told that I was cute and pretty, but…" She shook her head. "Wait a minute, this isn't about me! This is about you, Tsu! You don't have to feel like you're not attractive, because you are! Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you, cause you have a great personality first and foremost!"

"I...uh, I don't know, I'm just...me, really." Tsuyu looked down and poked her fore fingers together in a timid nature. "I mean, my siblings say that I'm pretty, but I just kind of shrug that off, cause we're kind of amphibious looking by nature."

"Well, trust me and your siblings, Tsu! You're very pretty, charming, and you can work it too!" Uraraka nodded in determination with an assuring smile.

"...W-Well, okay…" Tsuyu said, still poking her fore fingers together in a tentative matter. "I-um, I guess I'll take your word for it."

" _That's kind of cute, actually."_

...Tsuyu flushed again as she remembered Midoriya's sentence in the tour bus.

Ochako smiled brightly, glad to lift her friend's spirits. Having done her good deed, she turned to the path they were taking and said, "Well, I think we should get back to searching for Iida."

Tsuyu looked up and nodded. "Yeah…"

They kept walking down the road, hoping to find their friend...

Five minutes later, they went up an intersection in the road, where there was a stop sign on the left, and a one way street pointing to the left. Tsuyu looked to her left to see a street sign that read: "Boho Street".

"Hmm…" Tsuyu stopped in her walk as she observed where they were.

"Hm?" Ochako stopped as well, and turned to Tsuyu. "What's up, Tsu?"

"...Hey, uh...how long have we been walking?" The Frog Girl asked.

Blinking at that question, Ochako answered, "Um...I think for like...fifteen, maybe eighteen minutes?" She pulled her flip-phone out of her jean pocket and looked at the time.

_**20:50** _

The Gravity Girl frowned. "Wow. It's almost 21:00." She looked up at the streetlights through the fog to see that they were still on. "We've been walking for a while…"

"Yeah...it looks like this road just doesn't end." Tsuyu decided to get her phone out her shorts to see the time too. Staring at the screen, she then said aloud, "We should probably text Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, just to see if they had any luck, *ribbit.*"

"Hmm...yeah. Good idea." Uraraka nodded. Before she could though, she had to remind herself that she didn't get the chance to actually get Izuku's number. Her face changed to a slightly dejected expression.

Tsuyu noticed this, and thought about what to do to make her friend not feel like she'd been cheated out of a potential moment to get to know Izuku better.

"...Um, I can text Yaoyorozu if you want me to." Tsuyu said to her.

"Eh?" Ochako looked up at her friend in confusion. "But...she didn't give you her number...did she?"

"Oh, well, I was just thinking maybe I could use your phone and...try to text her? *ribbit?* Maybe you could even hold my phone and...stuff." Tsuyu said, hoping she got the hint.

Uraraka blinked, but soon she realized what Tsuyu was trying to do. "Oh! Uh…" Ochako gave her a small smile. "I, uh...I mean, if you're okay with me holding your phone. I don't want to, um, run into anything you don't want me to see, heh."

"Oh no, it's just basically a lot of Sgt. Frog on it. Nothing too embarrassing, *ribbit,* " Tsuyu reassured her. She unlocked her phone and gave it to the brunette. "Here. Hold onto mine and I'll hold onto yours."

Ochako smiled. "You know, Tsu, you really don't have to-"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Just talk to Midoriya already, *ribbit.* And just to let you know, I was trying to set you up on talking to him." Tsuyu told her as she kept handing out her phone to her.

Smiling gratefully, Ochako took the phone and said. "Really, Tsu, thanks."

"No prob. Hey, I'll hold onto yours, if that's alright?"

"Oh! Sure! And you don't have to worry about anything on my phone, since it's such an old model. I'm not really hiding anything weird in it." Ochako said as she gave her phone a little too quickly to Tsuyu.

"Cool." Tsuyu nodded with a smile, holding onto Ochako's phone.

Giggling at that, Ochako set her attention to the screen. Before she tapped the text app on her phone…

_**MMM!** _

It vibrated in her hands, indicating a text just came up. Glancing who it was, she moved her eyes up on the screen at the text… and her face froze, a look of confusion and hurt adorning her features.

"Hm?" Tsuyu hummed in question upon noticing her expression. "Hey, you okay? What's up, Ochako?"

"...Ts-...Tsuyu, a...a text just came to you." Ochako said to her a little softly, her tone sounding like she found out something she shouldn't.

Tsuyu blinked in confusion, but frowned at her reaction. "Really? Uh, who is it?"

_**MMM!** _

Another vibration came up on Tsuyu's phone. This time, Ochako's eyes widened at what's being viewed in front of her.

Tsuyu looked a little worried. "Uh, Ochako? What's wrong?"

"...What...What is-"

_**MMM!** _

Another vibration. Ochako gasped.

"Ochako?" Tsuyu said, alarmed. "What is it?"

"...Asui...h-...how long?" Uraraka's voice wavered, her tone sounding...betrayed?

"Huh?" Tsuyu blinked again. _Why's she calling me by my surname? She usually calls me Tsu…_ "How...long what?"

"...How long have you and Deku been together?" Ochako asked her, a little firmly.

"Eh!?" Tsuyu exclaimed, her mouth opened in shock. "Wha...huh?!"

"Is...is this relationship recent?" Ochako's eyes were getting puffy as they formed tears.

"Ochako, what are you talking about? Me and Midoriya aren't a thin-"

"Just _stop_. Don't lie to me."

Tsuyu's eyes widened at her tone. "O-...Ochako, w-what...what's going on?"

"..." Ochako roughly tapped the text app on and read the one who was texting her. "...This text is from _Izuku_."

"Huh?" Tsuyu looked confused. "Midoriya? Well...what'd he say?"

Ochako's lips tightened and she stood there, shaking.

The Frog Girl did not like where this was heading. She decided to get to the bottom of this. "Ochako, what did he say, *ribbit?* I doubt he's sending me love texts, so-"

"Y-You know...when we were about to leave on the tour bus, I _saw_ you were sitting next to Midoriya." Ochako said in a tone that sounded low and sullen. "Did he...did he say something to you? Like how he _loves_ the way your hair looks?!"

"What!?" Tsuyu exclaimed in surprise. "O-Ochako, let me see that!"

"Why!? So you can enjoy these...these _words_ from Deku all by _yourself_!?" Ochako shouted as she pulled the Frog Girl's phone away from her.

"O-Ochako, I don't know what you're reading, but this doesn't sound like something Midoriya would say, *r-ribbit!* And I just sat next to him because it was the only closest seat for me to sit. The others were all taken. I mean, Bakugou sat next to you, so I just figured-"

"That you would make your move on Izuku!?" Ochako shouted, interrupting her.

"What? N-No!" Tsuyu said as she shook her head desperately.

"Don't lie!" Ochako yelled. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I...I should've known. When we were separated in the USJ, you were with him, right?"

"O-...Ochako, I-"

"You probably _felt_ something for him when he tried to save you from that hand villain! That must've been where it all _started_! Does that sound about _**right**_!?"

"Ochako, please, calm down-"

"And...and Deku must've...must've _**felt**_ something for _**you**_ when he tried to save your life!" Ochako's voice was cracking, a sob coming out of her throat.

 _This is getting out of hand. What is she reading on my phone?_ "Ochako, what exactly are you reading?"

"The _texts_ on your phone from **Midoriya!** " Ochako shouted a wobbly cry.

_**MMM!** _

Another text came to Tsuyu's phone. Ochako looked down at the screen again to read it.

"Ochako! Just give me my phone! Whatever you're reading, I highly doubt those texts are from Midoriya! Please, just give it to-"

"Did...did he call you cute?" Ochako said quietly as she stared at the screen.

Tsuyu froze.

" _That's kind of cute, actually."_

"The text said...that he meant to say you were _cute_...in the _tour bus_..." She looked up at Tsuyu, her face expressing hurt. "What did he mean by that?"

Tsuyu went silent. "...Ochako, please, just give me my phone ba-"

"Asui, just tell me, right now! _Please_!" Ochako exclaimed, her body shaking, her expression now desperate, tears flowing faster down her cheeks.

Cornered, Tsuyu definitely felt conflicted, not wanting to answer that question. _But I might have to...I mean, it's not the same thing, he's just saying he thought it was cute that I kind of believed in that whole supernatural stuff... I guess?_

"A-Asui?"

"Okay, look…" Tsuyu took a deep breath, trying to pick her next words carefully. "He...did say something like that-"

Ochako made a whimper as her eyes widened in dread.

"-but he wasn't saying anything about me! He was just...saying...that he thought I believed in the supernatural and he thought that was...cute, I guess? Look, I doubt Midoriya was trying to call me cute. I mean, he's just awkward that way, he can't possibly be interested in _me_."

Ochako stared at her, her eyes wet from tears as she looked at the Frog Girl, a little unsure if she could believe her or not.

"Look, Ochako," Tsuyu said slowly. "Honestly, it really, _really_ doesn't mean anything. He just said it to be nice, okay? Please, just give me-"

_**MMM!** _

Another vibration came onto the phone. Tsuyu froze once more. Ochako looked down at the text…

"..."

"...Uh, Ochako?"

The brunette said nothing…

Then, with a choked sob, Ochako turned around quickly, and began to run off. She could even hear her cries as she ran.

"Ochako, wait!" the frog girl pleaded, but it was no use. Whether the gravity girl could hear her or not, she would never know. Before she could even think to run or hop after her, Ochako disappeared into the fog, almost as if the mist was consuming her presence.

"Stop! We might get lost!" Tsuyu pleaded, running after her friend. But it was too late. Tsuyu Asui could no longer hear, nor see her heartbroken friend.

 _Oh man! I need to call her - no, everyone!_ Tsuyu thought, ready to tap the screen on the phone in her hands...until she noticed that the phone in her hands was a pink flip phone, and not a green smartphone...

Tsuyu's eyes widened at the realization. "...Oh crap."

She stood there for a couple of seconds to let the situation sink in, until she shook her head. "No! Come on, Tsu! I need to somehow try and find or contact Ochako!" She glanced down at the flip phone. "Hmm...maybe if I call _my_ phone that Ochako has, she'll answer."

Using Ochako's flip phone and the buttons that are on it, she went to try to find her friend's contact list...

...Until the phone went off in her hands, making her drop it in surprise. An airy musical tone sang loudly, it's high-pitched song echoing in the lonely area.

After taking a moment to calm her beating heart, she realized that someone was trying to call her. Picking it up carefully, her large fingers moved to hit the answer button, before they paused.

"Huh?" Tsuyu blinked, a little dumbfounded. The caller ID's electronic font just read: **[Me]**

"...Me?" Tsuyu said out loud in question.

The ringing kept on going for a while, but the Frog Girl paid no mind to it as she kept staring at it in wonder, until it stopped.

"...Huh. That's strange." Tsuyu muttered. "Must be a wrong number...on...Ochako's phone." Realizing that sounded odd, she pushed that thought aside and tried to find the contact list again. Once she found it, she was trying to find her phone number by repeatedly tapping the down button.

"Man, poor Ochako. This phone is really outdate-"

The airy musical ringtone came back on.

"Huh? What?" Tsuyu blinked once more and looked at the caller ID.

**(Me)**

"..." Tsuyu kept staring at the phone in confusion. "What the heck? Who is this... _Me_?"

The ringtone kept going...and then it stopped.

"...Uh...okay…" Tsuyu said, almost feeling a little uneasy on having that call a second time.

She kept staring at the phone...almost as if she's waiting for the phone to come back to life with the same cheery ringtone.

"...Wha-"

The ringtone came back on yet again, startling her this time.

...The caller ID started to say something different this time.

**(Me): [...]**

**(Me): [...]**

**(Me): [It's]**

**(Me) [...]**

**(Me): [...ME…]**

Tsuyu's eyes widened in shock.

_...Do...Do flip phones do this?_

The caller ID then said something else while it was still ringing.

**(Me): [Pick Up]**

...Feeling a little frightened by this sudden act of sentience(?), Tsuyu raised a shaky finger and hovered it over the talk button…

...The ringtone was going on longer than usual...

Still hesitating, she was tempted to just let it keep ringing. This was Ochako's phone, and she didn't want to use hers without her permission...even though she's looking through it to find her own phone number.

But then, the caller ID on the screen said:

**(Me): [PICK]**

**(Me): [ME]**

**(Me): [UP!]**

Tsuyu looked at the screen in dread, wondering what was going on.

The ringtone kept going...

**(Me): [...]**

**(Me): [...]**

**(Me): [...]**

**(Me): [Pick up NOW if you want to see your brother and sister alive, Tsu.]**

Tsuyu's mouth dropped open, her eyes widened in shock once more.

"Wh-Wh-What!?" Tsuyu breathed out an exclaimed gasp.

**(Me): [DO IT!]**

She didn't waste any more time as she pushed the 'TALK' button.

"H-Hello!? _Hello_!? Who is this!?" Tsuyu asked the mysterious caller in a frantic, but stern tone.

" _..."_

"Hey! Tell me where my brother and sister are, _right now_!"

" _...So. You finally picked up. I was getting impatient."_

Tsuyu froze.

_Wait...that voice..._

"...W-Who is this?"

" _You know...I never got to_ disintegrate _you."_

Her eyes widened out of fear.

"...Are...Are you…?"

" _The_ hand _villain as you and your friend so eloquently put it? The name's Shigaraki, little girl,_ remember it _."_

"...You...You're the one who's been sending the texts to Uraraka!"

" _Oh_ darn. _You_ _got me. Maybe I shouldn't have let that slip."_

Tsuyu gripped the phone as she firmly said to him, "W-What do you want!? What are you doing here!? _Where_ are my siblings!? "

" _Now, now, calm down. First off, I'm not here to cause any trouble to any of your friends."_

That got Tsuyu's attention as she calmed down just a bit to listen.

" _Oh no, I want to cause_ **you** _trouble, little Tsuyu."_

"How...How do you know my name?"

" _I have my ways. And after being_ stopped _by your_ **teacher** _, Eraserhead, from letting me decay your little froggy face, I can't help but look at the expression you made when I was almost about to end your life. It was certainly..._ tantalizing _to look at."_

The Frog Girl grimaced.

_Tantalizing? Eugh…_

" _Yes, that expression...it was your_ **fear** _. Fear that your life was about to be extinguished in just a mere matter of seconds. And as you emitted that fear, I became very..._ dedicated _to seeing that expression of yours once again."_

Creeped out by the hand villain's speech, she stood strong, and sternly demanded, "S-Shut up! What have you done to my brother and sister!?"

" _Oh, well, if you want to be rude about it, then fine, I'll tell you where your brother and sister are. Not to worry, since they're with_ **me** _."_

Her breath was caught in her throat, eyes widened even further in horror.

" _Oooh, now, there we_ go _. That expression. You look so..._ **terrified** _."_

She stood there rigid, turning her head around to view her surroundings while holding Ochako's phone next to her ear.

" _And yes, I can see you. I can see_ **everything** _, from the street, to up above, just like a video game. But I'm certain you can't see where I really am because of this pesky fog, now can you?"_

Tsuyu averted her attention back to the caller on the phone. "Y-You listen to me, _Shigaraki_! If you hurt my brother and sister, then I'll-"

" _Watch what you say, little Froggy, or I_ will _make them have very short lives. Oh! Actually, I didn't even let you have the time to hear your siblings cry out to you, did I? Well, here they are."_

_The phone went silent for a moment...and then she heard them._

" _TSU! HELP US! THIS MAN IS REALLY CREEPY!"_ shouted Tsuyu's little sister, Satsuki, who sounds like she's on the verge of tears.

" _TSU, HELP! PLEASE SAVE US! THIS HAND GUY JUST ABDUCTED US OUT OF NOWHERE! PLEASE CALL ANYONE, ALL MIGHT, ERASERHEAD, ANYONE!"_ Tsuyu's younger brother, Samidare, shouted as well, the fear in his tone evident.

"Satsuki! Samidare!" Tsuyu yelled back at the phone in a panic. "Hold on! I'm coming! I can't call anyone right now, but I'll get you guys out! I promise!"

" _Oh come now, don't make promises you can't keep,_ **Tsu** _. You'll never know what will_ **happen** _."_

Tsuyu gritted her teeth. "If you hurt them, I swear, I'll make you eat dirt!"

" _Aww, that's adorable. Well, let's see if you can keep that promise then. How about you follow these directions to where your precious brother and sister are, as well as_ I _am?"_

"Just tell me where they _are_!" Tsuyu exclaimed.

" _Okay, okay, calm down. Sheesh, at least you're playing the game. Speaking of games, how about a little scavenger hunt along with a puzzle? Go to your left of the street you're on and stop until the end of the intersection. There's a restaurant on your right at the end of the corner of it._ _ **Go to it**_ _. Now for the puzzle: There in the kitchen, you'll find a meal, served just for_ you _. I hope you haven't eaten anything...because the thing that was already cooked_ did _. ...Or was it? Oh, I don't really know, but maybe you can figure it out when you get there."_

The Frog Girl growled at Shigaraki on the other line, "What's the point of this!?"

" _My_ **point** _is that the item you seek is somewhere in the restaurant. Once you get it, I will call you back to give you more information. Ciao for now!"_

Before Tsuyu could yell at him again, the other line hung up. Growling, she glared at the phone, and after calming down, she blew out a sigh. She looked toward the road ahead of her, where Ochako ran off to.

"...I'm sorry, Ochako. But I can't let my brother and sister get hurt." Tsuyu said out loud. She looked down, feeling slightly ashamed. "I hope you'll be okay...and that you won't be mad at me still after all of this...it was all _Shigaraki's_ doing." She scowled as she remembered the texts that were on her phone for Ochako to see. "He's gonna _pay_ for this."

And with that, she ran to the left of the street through the fog and went to her assigned destination.

* * *

Ochako wept as she kept running through the thick fog, not once looking back at her so-called _friend_.

She never felt so _betrayed_. She almost felt used in a way.

"I-I can't-" Ochako whimpered. "I can't believe T-Tsuyu would even do something like that! E-Even after I told her!"

Feeling her legs are getting tired from all the running, Ochako slowed down gradually to a stop. Once she did, she dropped to the ground on her knees, not caring if she scratches up her jeans. Putting a hand to her mouth to muffled her sobs as tears poured down her face.

_**MMM!** _

Ochako slightly jerked from the feeling of the vibration in her hand. Looking down at it, she came to the realization that she was still carrying Tsuyu's green phone with her.

Wiping her tears with her free hand, she lifted the phone up to her face that was gripped in the other. She stared at the screen to see what the recent text had said.

Reading it, Ochako, grimaced in despair.

"...I...I can't...I can't believe Midoriya would even say that…" Ochako sniffled as she choked another sob. "H-He must...r-really...like Tsuyu…"

She kept staring down at the screen, tears still going down her face…

...Silence filled the area…

"...Wait…" Ochako softly said to herself, her face slowly morphing into a look of confusion. She blinked, and wiped away her tears as she looked back at the screen. "...Something's off. Deku...wouldn't be like this…" She narrowed her eyes at the screen, and began rereading the texts that brought her misery.

Before the phone could black out, Uraraka tapped the screen and scrolled up the rows of texts from the beginning of Tsuyu's conversation with Izuku.

After briefly feeling jealous that Tsuyu has somewhat of a better phone, she read and observed the first text from 'Midoriya' and read the others from there.

**(Midoriya): [Hey there, Tsu. It's, uh, Izuku.]**

**(Midoriya): [Look, I'm just gonna say it...I think we should take the next step.]**

**(Midoriya): [I want...I want to make love to you.]**

**(Midoriya): [I mean, if you want! I mean...remember when I called you cute back at the tour bus? Well...while that's true, I was really gonna ask if...well, if you want to do the 'love' thing.]**

**(Midoriya): [I just...I want you so bad, Tsu…]**

**(Midoriya): [I...I really love you...Tsuyu.]**

It took a lot out of Ochako, but she eventually calmed down, reminding herself to study the texts instead of reading them and taking them to heart. Studying the texts very closely, her feelings of anger and sorrow turned into one of confusion.

From what she knew about Izuku, he's the type to fumble his words, even in text...and if she thought about it, he texted these rather quickly. Not to mention that he's the most anxious person that she'd ever met. So when she really thought about it, she couldn't really believe that he would send these texts so easily, especially with how they were worded. She knew from her observations that he had a lot of self-confidence issues, and he wouldn't be _this_ confident in being forward with a girl.

It was one of his many quirks that made him _cute_.

Shaking her head, she lightly smacked herself in the face to focus. The point was that no, Izuku wouldn't be able to talk to anyone of the girls like that, much less text them. Plus, she could imagine Izuku's head exploding upon mentioning...well, actual _love-making_. Not literally, but something to that effect...which she would find adorable if that was the case.

...Man, she has it _bad_.

Still, when she got down to it, this didn't sound _at all_ like Izuku.

Which means…

"...Tsu wasn't lying." Ochako mumbled to herself. She even told her that whatever Izuku said, it wouldn't sound like him.

She knelt onto the ground, looking at Tsuyu's phone, letting it all sink in.

"...Wow." Ochako muttered. She felt...ashamed. "Then...Tsu was telling the truth...and I didn't listen to her."

She let her emotions get the best of her…

Then...who was it that was pretending to be Izuku?

Ochako frowned. "Whoever did this was trying to lure me away…" She looked around the area she was in, the street that she was on.

 _I could be watched...there could be someone watching me right now!_ She thought, as she looked for any cameras in the area. There had to be some around the perimeter here. _Those texts could've been from a hacker...could this person be learning more and more about us as we go through Chinmoku?_

Standing up from her position, she stood there to think about her situation.

_Either way, I got to get back to Tsuyu and apologize!_

Ochako turned around, and was about to go back where she came from, when-

...She heard something.

"Huh?" Uraraka turned around again to look at the foggy road ahead of her.

_SHIFF. SHIFF. SHIFF. SHIFF._

What was that?

Ochako, now on high alert, turned to the source of the sound, which was obscured by the fog.

"He...Hello?" she called out hesitantly.

_...SHIFF…_

_...SHIFF…_

_...SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP!_

The sound was getting louder…

"U-Uh…" Ochako blinked, unsure of what that sound was.

 _SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP,_ _**SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP, SHIFF-FLAP!** _

A sense of dread was starting to overwhelm her as she stood there frozen.

But then, the sounds stopped...

...A low, pained, and pitiful groan echoed out onto the street.

That made Ochako gulp as she stammered, "H-h-hello?"

Silence answered her back.

"I-Is someone there!? Do you need help!?" Ochako finally called out, her body trembling as she fought hard to stay brave.

" _ **...ChAnGe…"**_

"...Huh?" Ochako blinked.

A figure came crawling out of the fog. Ochako squinted, unable to properly identify what she was looking at.

Whatever - or whoever, - this thing was, it was crawling towards her slowly, and Ochako's eyes widened.

"H-Hey! Are you okay!?"

She decided to throw caution to the wind, and ran towards the man who looked to be injured.

"Hey, are you alri-" Ochako stopped dead in her tracks as she finally saw what was coming towards her.

Her eyes widened as a trembled gasp escaped her throat, her hands muffling her sounds as she put them over her lips.

" _ **ChAnGe…"**_

Ochako screamed, backing away from it.

This... _thing_...it wasn't human. At least, it couldn't be. Not anymore. She didn't know what it was, but it wasn't human! She wasn't even sure if it was alive!

Its skin was a dull brown, looking like it'd been decomposed for days, while its arms were spindly, thin enough to be meaty twigs. Its hands were large, being big and bony enough to fully grab someone's head. Its chest looks sunken, its ribcage and stomach showing, and stopping there, as there was no lower body, just a torso with arms, hands, and a head. Another bizarre thing about this...this _creature_ , was that it looked like it was wearing a jacket of some kind...made of its own brown _flesh_. It looked flappy and torn looking, the jacket skin hanging off its arms and on the sides of his chests and stomach. Even its shoulders looked like sagging skin that's reminiscent of a jacket.

But believe it or not, that wasn't the most frightening detail.

It was the _head_ of this thing.

While the head itself was the same color as the creature, there...there were _no eyes_ whatsoever. Just a mouth with jagged and crooked teeth, a lot of them missing, and two deformed ears. There wasn't even a distinguished nose on it...

And this creature was crawling on its large bony hands, dragging its body towards Ochako!

" _ **ChAaAaAnGe!"**_ it yelled out in a low, almost inhuman growl, getting closer to the girl.

"Wha-wha-wha-what- _what_ - _whaaaat_!?" Ochako stuttered in a scared frenzy as she staggered backwards. However, upon doing so, she tripped on her heel, and landed on her bottom with a _thud_! "Oof!"

Looking back up, she stared in horror at the crawling monster that was headed for her.

' _Wha-Wha-What is_ _ **that thing**_ _!?'_ Ochako screamed inside her mind in horror.

" _ **ChAnGe!"**_ the monster hollered out as it grew closer.

Snapping out of her shock, Ochako yelped and got up quickly as she scurried to stand. When the monstrosity was close in reaching her, she turned around and _ran_.

She ran away from the crawling menace, her legs going faster than the monster's pace. Heart beating so fast, she pumped her legs with more adrenaline as she kept going, further away from that _thing_.

As she ran, she took a right turn into an alleyway to try to lose the monster. There was a dumpster on the left side of the wall, as well as some trash cans. She went over and hid behind the other side of the dumpster, the object being large enough to hide her smaller frame. Ochako calmed her scared breathing as she placed a hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't attract the creature.

_Huff...huff...huff...huff…huff..._

...Everything turned silent...

With her hand still covering her mouth, her frantic breathing lessening as she stood there hunched over to make herself even more concealed from view.

…

She didn't hear anything.

Everything...was quiet again.

Ochako cautiously let her hand get away from her mouth, her breathing becoming steady now.

' _What?'_

Hesitantly, she inched her head to the edge of the dumpster and poked her head out on the other side to see if anybody was there.

...All she could see was the fog encasing the street from the entrance of the alleyway.

Confused, Ochako got out from behind her cover. Staring at the opening that leads to the street, she made her way to it at a wary pace.

That encounter with that thing...it made her remember something back then when she was fourteen…

* * *

**[A Year Ago]**

_Ochako panted as she jogged home. Her school uniform beginning to feel damp from the humid evening, she was heading back home to her apartment so that she won't miss out on her favorite program. She was also hungry, and was more than ready for some dinner._

" _Change…"_

" _Huh?" Ochako stopped in her tracks, and looked behind at the open alleyway behind her._

" _Change…" said the croaking and raggedy voice._

_A vagrant stepped into view, wearing worn, ragged, and unclean clothes, which looked as greasy as his long, white beard. She briefly wondered if he was quirkless, until she noticed his long, flesh-colored tail._

_Staggering over to the girl with a can in his right hand, he mumbled, "Change...I can tell your future for twenty-five yen."_

" _Oh! Uh...okay?" Ochako said to the vagrant in confusion._

_The man stopped staggering and seemed to look at her through his shades as if he just saw her for the first time._

" _Oh...yes, I see! I see you have a_ good _future!" The homeless man grinned, showing off several of his missing teeth._

_Ochako blinked at the man, looking intrigued by his rambling. "You..do?"_

" _Oh yes! I see that it's_ very _good! Do you want to_ see _it? It's only twenty-five yen!" the man urged, his smile turning into a grin._

_The girl looked at the man a little suspiciously..._

Well... it's just twenty-five yen. It's not that much. And besides, this guy looks like he really needs it.

_Ochako smiled at the man. "Okay then! Sure!"_

_She dug into her skirt pocket, and got her wallet out to get the amount asked. As soon as she dropped it into the can, though, the man suddenly wrapped his tail around her wrist._

" _Huh?" Ochako blinked, a little surprised._

_Then...the man started to stroke the top of her hand, along with her fingers._

" _Oooh…" the man cooed._

_Ochako froze as his caressing touch._

" _U-Uh...i-is this part of your...Quirk? The fortune-telling thing?" Ochako asked the man uneasily._

" _Oh yes...yes, yes..._ yessss…" _the vagrant said as he grinned even wider._

" _...Uh…u-um…" Ochako started to shake a bit._

_She's REALLY starting to have a bad feeling about all of this, and was beginning to regret even talking to this man._

" _Oooh...you have_ really _smooth skin," the homeless man said, his grin oddly getting excited._

" _Uh...uuuh…" Ochako began to sweat as she began to fidget from his dirty touch._

" _Yes...I can tell you your future, alright..." The man then took off his sunglasses...to reveal that his eyes were all bugged out and moving around, looking in different directions._

_Ochako blanched at the lecherous look he was giving her._

" _Hehe...would you like to 'see'_ it _?" the man said, his tongue licking grazing against his teeth as he licked his lips._

" _UUUUH...n-no_ thank you _!" She exclaimed as she raised her other hand and_ slapped _the man's face, thus activating her Zero Gravity Quirk on him._

" _AAAAGH!" The man felt weightless as he began to float and whirl in place where he stood, his tail releasing her wrist, as his can of change fell out of his hand, and the money clattered on the concrete sidewalk._

_Without even thinking, Ochako took what little amount of change that she exchanged to the vagrant off the ground and ran away from him, all the while his form still floating and whirling around in the same place._

_As she ran, one thought was racing in Ochako's mind:_

NEVER AGAIN!

* * *

Ochako stopped to shiver at that memory.

That was something she'd _never_ wanted to experience again. To be touched like that...ugh! She felt so violated just thinking about it!

She continued onwards as she neared the foggy road.

_...Shiff._

As soon as she heard that noise, she froze.

...

...She waited for any sound to come into the dense silence.

_...Shiff._

Her eyes went wide.

_...Shiff...shiff…_

Ochako was slightly shaking, the dreadful lingering shuffling far off, but at the same time feels like the sounds are closer than she thinks.

_...Shiff...shiff...shiff...shiff-shiff...shiff-shiff...shiff-shiff..._

...Then a far-off voice, with the same low grunting gargle, called out...

" _ **Change…"**_

...Ochako gulped.

" _ **Change...change…"**_

_Shii-shiff...shiff-shiff...shiff-shiff...shiff, shiff, shiff, shiff, shiff, shiff, shiff, shiff…_

" _ **...Change."**_

Feeling very uncomfortable just by standing near the street, Ochako quietly backed away from it and returned to the alleyway.

Taking each careful step backward, once she'd entered the alleyway again, she turned around and quickly ran through it, careful not to make any loud sounds as she dodged trash cans and litter that were laid around the area.

She went straight, and came up with a two way path to the left and right. Looking swiftly to her left, she saw that it was a dead end, but there were three doors that led into the back of the buildings. Trying out her luck, she went to the first door and tried to open it.

The door was locked.

"Damn," Ochako cursed in a whisper. She went to the other door.

The doorknob felt broken.

Gritting her teeth in desperation and annoyance, Ochako went to the last door.

The metal handle for the door looked broken off from erosion.

 _Seriously!?_ Ochako almost yelped in frustration, but didn't want to tip the monster off. She tried to push it at least, maybe even using her Quirk on it, but it proved fruitless, with the door being stubbornly fused to the hinges.

With a huff of irritated disappointment, she ran away from the doors and went further the other direction, past the alleyway exit (while making sure not to make too much loud noise when she ran). As she kept running to the other side of the path, there was a left turn in the alley. She took it, and ran through the path straight, until she found another door to the right of a dead-end. However, there was another left turn, but it had a wired metal fence blocking access from it. She tried the door to the right at the dead end, but it looked like it wouldn't budge.

 _Oh come on!_ Ochako turned around to see the wired fence behind her. She frowned as she looked back at her left where the alleyway path was to make sure the monster wasn't somehow following her. She gave out a small whimper, her attention back to the fence, _Well, I might have to use my Quirk a little bit…_

She activated her Quirk and tapped the bottom of her shoes, and made the jump over the gate.

_**Woosh!** _

Ochako went over the fence...and landed on the other side of the alleyway.

_Okay, not so ba-_

"...ULLLP!"

...Her stomach hurt.

_What? Oh...oh…_

A rising nausea formed in her stomach.

_Oh no..._

She put a hand to her mouth, the bile slowly coming up. However, she managed to fight back the urge, and she managed to force the bile back down.

"Ugh…" Ochako gasped for air as she panted. " _Ha...ha..._ wow...that...that was… a lot sooner than usual..."

After swallowing some air to ease her lingering nausea, she looked behind her at the fence.

"Well...at least whatever that thing was, I'm safe from it...for now," she said quietly.

Turning back to the path at hand, she went ahead down the short way, which there was a right turn.

Taking the turn, she stopped to see that the path of this alleyway exited through another street. There were garbage cans and another dumpster there. There were also other doors on each side of the buildings, but that didn't matter right now. She was almost away from that _thing_.

She gave a sigh of relief, "Okay...now I got to find Tsuyu."

Feeling confident that she lost the creature that was after her, she continued onward through the alley. While the smell wasn't very pleasant, at least she-

_**Thump** _

Ochako froze dead in her tracks.

_**Thump...thump!** _

She quickly turned to her right to look at the nearby dumpster with wide eyes.

Unsure if she was hearing things correctly, she took a hesitant step forward.

_**Thump. Thump. THUMP!** _

She jumped as the dumpster began to rock back and forth, almost as if someone was trying to escape its confinement. The top flaps vibrated with each bang from the metal, letting them bounce from the violent movements.

_**THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!** _

"Uh...h-...hello?" Ochako said timidly.

…

_..._ **_POW!_ **

Without warning, the dumpster lids blasted open loudly, making her squeak in fear as she fell on her rear.

The Zero Gravity Girl didn't - no, couldn't move, paralyzed by both fear and curiosity for what could be in the dumpster.

Then, an arm reached out of the container, and she felt her heart stop.

 _What? But...But it was back_ there _!_

" _ **CHANGE!"**_

The monster from before popped out of the dumpster, and _lunged_ right at her.

" **AAAH!"** Ochako screamed, desperately scrambling backwards, only to hit the wall with her back against it.

The monster fell out of the dumpster and painfully landed on its head. It groaned as it struggled to get up, letting out a pitiful attempt to reach out for her, before it went still.

Shaking in frozen fear, the girl looked down at the creature.

...It wasn't moving.

Trembling, but finally calming down just a bit, Ochako wondered to herself, "Is...is it dead?"

She stared at the creature, and realized that it definitely wasn't moving anymore.

"...Oh...I...I guess...it's...I guess it's...dead?" Ochako hesitantly concluded.

_I mean...it had landed on its head...it looked like a nasty fall too...and I think its neck bent when it landed on the ground._

Ochako cautiously crawled over to the supposedly dead creature.

Despite living in a world of quirks, she still found it crazy to her that something liked this existed. Sure, there were abominations like Nomus, but this clearly wasn't one, due to its frail appearance alone. It didn't even have legs! ...Or eyes, or any other facial features besides its mouth.

Suddenly, the monster's body started to twitch.

Ochako blinked.

_Huh?_

_SNATCH!_

As fast as a snake, the monster's large hand shot up, grabbing her arm tightly.

"WHAAAH!?" Ochako exclaimed and in shock.

" _ **Change...change!"**_ the creature kept saying as it got up, using its other hand for support, lifting its half torso-ed body up.

The girl desperately tried to shake him off of her, but the monster was surprisingly strong. Its grip tightening on her arm, she tried to shake him off again, only to accidentally pull it towards her. They both fell back towards the wall, and her head banged into it painfully, making the foggy world blurry. Dazed, but not completely out of it yet, she weakly tried to pry its grip off of her with her Quirk, but it grabbed onto her other shoulder, trapping her in its embrace.

Eyes widening in horror, she tried to get her arm free from the monster's grip, but it then grabbed her arm, and soon her other arm, securing her in place. The creature then looked as if it was _staring_ at her, its rancid breath giving out puffs onto her face. Ochako quivered, her back against the wall as she's sitting on the ground, probably about to be eaten...or worse...maybe even _violated_?

Her eyes widened even further as its tongue came out of its mouth, the latter becoming even more apparent by the moment.

" _ **Change...change…"**_

_W-Why does it keep saying that?! It is some sort of...b-beggar?_

" _ **Chaaaaange…"**_

Right now, she doesn't have any money on her...but the thing looks like it was gonna compromise with something else in mind.

She couldn't believe the mess she was in...

"P-P-Please..d-don't," Ochako pleaded, terrified at what was about to happen.

" _ **CHANGE!"**_

That shout to her face was all she could handle.

"SOMEONE _PLEASE_ _HELP_ _ **ME**_!" Ochako screamed, the monster's tongue seemingly looking like it's stretching, getting longer by the second.

She wished someone was here right now to ward this thing off, _anyone_. Tsuyu, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Kyouka, heck, even Bakugou! She closed her eyes out of fear, dreadfully waiting for the inevitable to happen…

She wished Midoriya was here.

Its tongue was getting closer to her mouth...

_Deku, please save me!_

_**WHAM!** _

Suddenly, the weight of the monster lessened. Ochako opened her eyes, wondering what happened. Then...

_**WHAM!** _

She gasped as she saw a metal pipe bashed down on the creature's head.

" _ **CHaAaAoooANGE!"**_ it cried in agony.

_**WHAM!** _

The monster was hit _hard_ upside the face, now completely off of her as it let go of Ochako. She sat there in frozen shock as a person ran into her vision, carrying a metal pipe in their hand.

Her eyes darted to that person, a man it would seem, as he quickly approached the monster with the metal pipe in his hands.

The monster didn't look like it was down for the count as it tried to swipe a large hand at the man while it was on its back. It looked as if it was trying to get back up, squirming and convulsing wildly as it waved its arms and hands around.

The man backed up a bit, and then took position to whack the creature again. Once the monster showed an opening for him, the man lifted the metal pipe in his hands and _slammed_ it on the abomination.

_**WHAM!** _

" _ **CHAAAAOOooaANanaNANGge!"**_ the creature gave out a disturbing shriek of pain.

The man didn't waste any more time as he kept bashing the monster's body.

_**WHAM!** _

The monster shrieked again.

_**WHAM!** _

It shrieked some more.

_**WHAM!** _

It was slowing down its movements, the monster getting weaker as well as its shrieks.

_**WHAM!** _

Once it stopped flailing its arms, the monster groaned as it tried to get back up. But the man would have none of it.

_**WHAM!** _

He swung the pipe horizontally on its head, making the thing go down. The creature, however, was still twitching a good bit, letting whatever muscles it had spazz like crazy. The man decided to give it one last hit, this time striking it down on the head.

_**WHAM!** _

...The monster was out like a light.

It didn't twitch or shriek anymore, laying there on the ground in a beaten state...possibly dead.

The man was breathing hard, his adrenaline going down once it was all over.

Ochako looked on at the man, and then at the supposed dead monster that he'd beaten to a pulp, her shock still present in her system.

Breathing heavily, the man then decided to take another precaution and _kick_ the downed beggar(she decided to call it that from now on) to make sure if it was, indeed, dead.

It didn't move...

"...Thank God," the man muttered as he sighed in relief.

Ochako looked back up at her savior, which the man turned his whole form to her, letting her see his face.

"Hey," the man spoke softly as he cautiously approached her. "Are you okay?"

"Uhh...u-um..." Ochako sat there dumbfounded.

The man frowned. "I'm...I'm really sorry you had to see that. But, it was attacking you, and…well, you were yelling for help...and..." the man's sentence died off, looking somewhat awkward, "...Can you stand?"

She snapped out of her stupor. "W-What?"

The man looked at her sympathetically, "I said can you stand?" He reached out his hand to Uraraka. She noticed that his fingers were illuminating a light on the tip of his fingers, making them look like mini flashlights. Thankfully, the lights were dim, and didn't blind her. "Here. I'll help you up."

Ochako observed the man curiously. He looked normal, from the clothes to his blonde hair, even from his Quirk, which she thinks it involves flashlights on his fingers. His face looked honest and his eyes looked really soft...

"...O...kay," Ochako then lifted her hand and placed it on his hand.

_Wow, his hand is really warm._

Once he grasped her hand, he pulled her up from the ground.

"Thanks..." Ochako said, but looked confused. "Um...who are you?"

The man's eyes widened as he realized he hadn't told her his name. "Oh, I'm sorry. I, um...my name is Sandarando. Jasei Sandarando."

"Oh...okay. Well, my name is Uraraka Ochako."

Jasei smiled. "Evening, Uraraka."

_He seems nice…_

Ochako smiled slightly, feeling a little bit at ease with this man.

However, she wanted to ask him a question.

"Um...Mr. Sandarando?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"What...uh, what are you doing in this abandoned town?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my, goodness...I finally updated! XD
> 
> This chapter was gonna be MUCH longer originally, but...I decided just to give all of you this so you can know that I haven't ditched this project. XP But still, interesting, ain't it? Now we got our first monster in this story, all made by yours truly! :) And look who decided to drop by and help out Ochako! You thought he was going to be just a fanservice cameo? Ooooh no, he'll play a part in this story. It's small, but he'll be playing it. XD
> 
> Either way, next chapter, we'll go back to Ochako and Jasei, while we switch to Shouto and Jirou, and then back to maybe Tsuyu or Izuku and Momo! Or maybe both! I can try! ;D
> 
> And don't worry, Katsuki will get some well deserved...well, you'll see. ;)
> 
> So, did you enjoy the chapter, even though I just focused on two of the girls here? If you have, give me a review, a follow and/or a fave! I love to hear what you think! :)
> 
> Thanks to Lucius Walker for betaing it as well! You rock, dude! :D
> 
> Until then, keep on rocking, everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY! Does this have promise? Please do tell me! :D Also, yes, as you can see from the character filters, Izuku be getting a love triangle. XD There's more, and they're a little out there, but...these are what fanfics are for, right? ;D
> 
> Also, an announcement! I'm getting ready for my sister's wedding that's coming up THIS(or next, depending on when this was posted) Saturday! And I'm a groomsman! Yaaay! 8D However, I won't be able to write a ton, but I'll be bringing my computer with me where my sister will get married so I can write some stuff at that time! :)
> 
> Again, tell me what you all think! Fave, follow, review? Help a guy out! I love to hear what you all think of it so far! :D
> 
> Until then, keep on rocking everybody! ^_^
> 
> -TSP


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